Can You Bring a Civil Case Against Your Abusers and His Supporters? Maybe

by Leslie C. Griffin^*

In blog post 2 I told you about the criminal cases against church personnel. They also faced many civil cases, as the courts decided who should be held liable for abuse. The abuser, certainly. But what about the bishops, cardinals, archdiocese and dioceses who employed and protected them? Occasionally they were held liable. Often, they were not.

Massachusetts provided background about the extent of the abuse. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Report, published in 2003, reported at least 789 victims had complained, with possibly up to 1,000.¹ At least 237 priests and a number of other workers had been accused. Of the 250 estimated total, 202 were abused between 1940 and 1984, with 48 under Cardinal Bernard Law. The crimes had occurred over six decades. The church had shown a “massive and pervasive failure of leadership” that “borders on the unbelievable.”²

The Archdiocese of Boston numbered 2,324 archdiocesan priests. 162 archdiocesan priests, or 7%, were alleged to have sexually abused a minor, though 58 were deceased. Among the report’s findings:

• 59 of the priests were ordained between 1960 and 1969.

• Eight were ordained between 1980 and 2003.

• Three deacons, 10 priests from other dioceses, and 44 priests from religious orders were alleged to have sexually abused a minor.

• 815 people made allegations of abuse.

• 150 people made accusations against deacons, non-diocesan priests, and priests of religious orders.

• Through December 2003, the archdiocese had paid $120.6 million settling sex abuse claims, and insurance had paid $22.3 million. The archdiocese borrowed $90 million to pay the claims.³

In July 2003, some abused plaintiffs stated they had more than 45,000 documents about 141 priests alleged to have abused minors. The priests identified in this memorandum were Paul Shanley, Joseph Birmingham, Richard Buntel, Robert Burns, Richard T. Coughlin, Paul J. Finegan, James D. Foley, Thomas P. Forry, John J. Geoghan, Daniel M. Graham, Richard Johnson, Edward Kelley, Bernard Lane, Robert V. Meffan, Robert Morrissette, David C. Murphy, Ronald H. Paquin, John Picardi, Arthur O’Leary, Eugene O’Sullivan, Anthony Rebeiro, George J. Rosenkranz, Paul P. Rynne, Paul V. Tivnan, Ernest Tourigney, and Dozia Wilson. ⁴

At times, the church abuse turned into wrongful death. Church members had already been warned of Ronald H. Paquin’s abuse by Robert P. Bartlett. Paquin’s pastor, Allen E. Roche, told Bartlett he had taken care of the abuse in December 1980, and Paquin was sent from Roche’s parish to St. John the Baptist Church in Haverhill in April 1981. In November 1981, Paquin took four teenage boys away for the weekend. They drank a lot on their trip. On their early morning return home, Paquin fell asleep while driving. Jimmy Francis, who was trapped under the car, died. Francis had been abused soon before his death when Paquin crawled into his sleeping bag. Later reports were that Paquin had also abused people at Roche’s church.

In 2002, Jimmy’s mother Sheila said “It’s a tough thing, to find out about all this 20 years later. It’s like a death all over again.”⁵ “To learn now that the church apparently knew about Paquin but still sent him to Haverhill ‘shatters my faith,’” she said. ⁶ Paquin continued to abuse, even after Jimmy’s death, even using grief about Jimmy to seduce victims. In the 1990s, the archdiocese settled some claims against Paquin, including Bartlett’s. Sheila and Harold Francis filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the archdiocese for death of their son James Francis, arguing that the archdiocese had breached its tort duty by allowing a known pedophile to continue as a priest in a place where he could still harm people.⁷ They argued that the diocese could have prevented Jimmy’s death by removing an abuser from work near children. They had learned just that week that Jimmy had been given alcohol and abused by Paquin.⁸ Twelve men had already made accusations against him.

After the 2002 Globe story ran, Cardinal Law reassured church members that no abusing priests remained in the pulpit. But soon after, another eight priests were removed from their positions. ⁹ The church’s written policy was developed in 1992, after the arrests of James Porter and John Hanlon, and was completed in 1993.¹⁰

I: BOSTON

Attorney Roderick MacLeish had a client who accused James Ridell of abuse. Ridell was “a sort of neighborhood pied piper in rural Marshfield, Massachusetts.” MacLeish brought suit against him in 1992, and won $1.4 million, “one of the largest sex-abuse judgments in the state’s history.” ¹¹

A Waltham, Massachusetts woman filed suit against John Geoghan in 1996 for sexual abuse of her three sons. ¹² That was the first public suit after many years of complaints and gossip. A fierce response by Cardinal Law forced Geoghan to go to a treatment facility.

David Carney sued Frederick J. Ryan in 2003 for abuse that took place in 1981. His lawsuit survived a statute of limitations challenge.¹³

Cardinal Law retired from his job as archbishop of Boston on December 13, 2002. He was replaced temporarily by Bishop Richard Lennon, who continued the church’s fight to avoid prosecutions. “There was, of course, its attempt to throw out all 500 pending suits by arguing that the First Amendment and its religious-freedom protections prevent the state from scrutinizing the Church’s workings. Though Lennon has contended that the move came at the behest of insurers, he and Church officials flew in L. Martin Nussbaum, a renowned First Amendment attorney, from Colorado just to make the case — a clear sign to many that the archdiocese meant business.”¹⁴ The church’s efforts continued to fail, however.

Bishop Sean Patrick O’Malley became archbishop on July 1, 2003, after being bishop of the Fall River Diocese since 1992. Then he became a cardinal. In 2024, abuse survivors have questioned the replacement of Cardinal Sean O’Malley as Archbishop of Boston with Providence, Rhode Island Bishop Richard Henning. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian called it a “revictimization for survivors.” He suggested Henning would not listen to the voices of survivors.¹⁵

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston [RCAB] was frequently sued. Some of the bishops sued in these cases — John B. McCormack of Manchester, N.H., Robert J. Banks of Green Bay, Wis., Thomas V. Daily of Brooklyn and Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans — all served as high-ranking officials under Cardinal Law after he became archbishop of Boston in 1984. They have been named as defendants in lawsuits filed by people claiming they were molested by priests. All denied wrongdoing. The Boston Globe revealed that John M. D’Arcy, who was a bishop in Boston before becoming bishop in Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, had warned Cardinal Law about Thomas P. Forry, who had been accused of beating up his housekeeper. He also warned Bishop Thomas V. Daily about Richard A. Buntel, who was accused of using drugs and engaging in homosexual activity, saying that he should not be given an assignment. D’Arcy questioned Geoghan’s assignment to the Weston parish because of Geoghan’s homosexual history. He also objected to an assignment for Robert V. Meffan, who was accused of abuse with teenage girls. D’Arcy appears to be the only bishop who posed any warnings.¹⁶

Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly investigated the archdiocese’s apparent cover-up of child molestation by priests. After delivering subpoenas to Law and seven former or current bishops, Reilly promised to unleash “all his investigative tools” to drag the truth out of church leaders. There were, in addition, 450 pending civil lawsuits against the archdiocese. On the same day that Law stepped down, victims’ lawyers received another 18 boxes of church files outlining allegations of priestly misconduct. ¹⁷ Reilly “estimated that more than 1,000 children were likely victimized by more than 235 priests from 1940 to 2000.”¹⁸

Critics said bishops should have been sued, but there is no criminal statute in Massachusetts for negligent supervision.¹⁹ The law said accessory and conspiracy did not apply because there was no criminal intent. Many civil cases were brought; however, no criminal cases were brought as Massachusetts has no law requiring reporting abuse. There was no law making it a crime to recklessly endanger children. ²⁰

The number of cases against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston explains why the archdiocese paid so much money in settlements. We will examine the settlements in the next blog post.

Brian Coughlin sued Bishop Robert Banks and Father Maurice O’Connor, and Defendant 3, who were in Boston and had a duty to hire, retain, supervise and direct Father Paul R. McCarthy. The complaint explains McCarthy’s “lewd and lascivious conduct … including, Father McCarthy touching and fondling Plaintiff’s buttocks and genitals” at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Norwood between 1989 and 1990 when Coughlin was 11-12 years old. The complaint alleged negligent hiring, retention, direction and supervision and asked for a trial by jury.²¹

Joseph Martignetti sued Reverends Joseph P. Smyth, Francis J. McGann, Patrick McLaughlin, and Defendant Four over their duty to hire, retain, supervise, and direct the late Father James J. Haddad. The complaint and jury trial demand were published in Superior Court Civil Action No. 21-844 and received on April 16, 2021. From 1977 to 1978, when Martignetti was 13 to 14 years old, conduct occurred including “Father Haddad raping Plaintiff by performing oral sex on Plaintiff and by digitally penetrating Plaintiff’s anus; and Father Haddad making Plaintiff perform oral sex on Father Haddad.” The complaint alleged negligent hiring, retention, direction and supervision and asked for a trial by jury.²²

John Doe II v. RCAB and Defendant Two was a complaint and jury trial demand over negligence regarding deceased Bernard L. Sullivan of St. Catherine of Genoa Parish in Somerville. From 1970 to 1973, when Doe II was 10-13 years old, Sullivan engaged in explicit sexual behavior with Doe II. The complaint alleged negligent hiring, retention, direction and supervision and asked for a trial by jury.²³

John Doe III v. RCAB and Defendant Two involved the deceased Deacon William Emerson of St. William’s Church in Tewksbury, who was accused of explicit sexual behavior from 1973 to 1978, with a minor up to age 13. The complaint alleged negligent hiring, retention, direction and supervision and asked for a trial by jury.²⁴

John Doe IV v. RCAB and Defendant Two was a complaint about priests of RCAB, including deceased Francis E. O’Brien, who abused and raped John Doe IV from 1966 to 1971, when the plaintiff was 7-12 years old. The complaint alleged negligent hiring, retention, direction and supervision and asked for a trial by jury.²⁵

There was a complaint and jury demand from Patrick McKeever, Michael T. Aceto, John Doe and Jane Doe against RCAB, Life Resources, Thomas V. Daily, Cardinal Bernard Law, and John B. McCormack. There is a release of all claims here for $200,000, May 29, 1998, with Garabedian signing.

James M. Hogan, Stephen Blanchette, John Morris, Bernard McDaid, Robert Abraham, Edward Bergeron, Gary Bergeron, James Davin, Thomas Blanchette, Laurent Bedard, Robert Courtney, Stevan Gauthier, Russell Bergeron, Olan Horne, David Lyko, Mark Janeczko, Roger Hamilton, Lawrence Finn, James Murphy, Lawrence Sweeney, Donald Blanchette, Edward Davin, Michael McCabe, George Costanza, Charles Fitzpatrick, Daniel Finnegan, William Zielinski, William Smith, Heath Vachon, Paul Ciaramitaro, Michael Barros, Joseph Favalora, Norman Gendron, Richard Smith, John Doe 1-4, Jane Doe, Richard Roe 1-9, Michael Moe 2-4 and James Joe 1-2 sued RCAB, John B. McCormack currently Bishop of Manchester, Monsignor John Jennings, Bishop Robert J. Banks, Monsignor Thomas J. Finnegan and Bernard Cardinal Law, with a complaint and jury demand filed. They claimed the defendants’ intentional, reckless, and or negligent acts or omissions with Joseph Birmingham allowed Birmingham to repeatedly molest them while they were minors and cause emotional distress and other damages. Hogan said McCormack, who at the time worked in the archdiocese in Massachusetts, saw Birmingham take Hogan to his bedroom and did nothing to stop it. Thomas Blanchette of Sudbury said Birmingham had abused him and his four brothers in the 1960s, at Our Lady of Fatima Parish. Blanchette added that “dozens of boys in Sudbury” had also been abused.²⁶

Brothers Dan and Paul Connolly alleged abuse by Father Brian Gallagher when they were young boys. Gallagher was ordained in 1952 and died in 2014. The Connollys sued the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston (RCAB) and the Missionary Society of St. Columban. Gallagher, a Columban priest, worked at the Columbans’ Mission House and also at St. Mark’s Parish while Paul Shanley was stationed there. The brothers alleged repeated assaults, including rape.

The Massachusetts Superior Court dismissed the Connollys’ vicarious liability claims, arguing that Gallagher’s actions were outside the scope of his employment with the church. The court also rejected Connollys’ ratification counts, concluding there was no evidence that the church knew specifically of the actions against the Connollys in order to ratify them. It did allow the breach of fiduciary claims to proceed because the plaintiff brothers were owed that duty if the defendants had particular ties to the priest.²⁷ The insurance company later got involved as a party, as Gallagher’s insurer. ²⁸

Shayna Demeo, Kevin Bennett, John Doe II, John Doe III, John Doe IV, Lisa Bennett, Michelle Bennett, Lisa Leblanc, Luis Negron, Lisa Keane, Cheryl Keane Snarsky, Kristie Keane, Michael Keane, Jr., Jessie Brown, Danielle Molinaroli, Sandra Gaudet, Jacqueline Lindsey, Dennis Colon, Francisco Rivera, Margarita Vazquez, Mariela Vazquez, Richard Wilkes and Patrick McSorley sued John J. Geoghan and successfully had Bernard Cardinal Law added to the lawsuit.²⁹

Leary v. Geoghan, 2000 WL 1473579 (Mass. App. 2000) included the Most Rev. Thomas V. Daily, the Rev. Monsignor John J. Sheehan, and the Rev. Francis H. Delaney, who were Geoghan’s supervisors. The church defendants argued the lawsuit was a clerical malpractice suit and a scrutiny of its ecclesiastical decisions that is never allowed by the First Amendment. The court denied the church’s motion, saying the lawsuit could proceed because the law could exercise some authority over the church.

The case against the Most Rev. Thomas V. Daily, the Rev. Monsignor John J. Sheehan, and the Rev. Francis H. Delaney, who were also the supervisors in Mendez v. Geoghan, 10 Mass.L.Rptr. 417 (1999), was also allowed to continue, with the court rejecting the church’s claims about its religious freedom and clergy malpractice.

Bernard Lane protested the issuances of letters rogatory permitting plaintiffs to see the records of the Institute of Living and St. Luke’s Institute, two health institutions where Lane had been a patient. These plaintiffs—Gregory Ford, Paul Busa, and Anthony Driscoll—wanted this information as part of their lawsuit against Cardinal Law and the archdiocese, as they had been abused by Paul Shanley, and argued that the supervisors should have stopped the abuse. The judge ruled against Lane, saying Lane knew at the very beginning of his treatment that the materials were not privileged because at the very beginning the materials went to the archdiocese. Lane said the materials were governed by the psychotherapist privilege, which the judge referred to it as “this gossamer ‘privilege.’”³⁰

Paul Finnegan faced a lawsuit by Jane Doe, arguing she had been the victim of nonconsensual sex from 1981 to 1984. Her sister always expressed great concern about what had happened to Jane, beginning from the time it started.³¹ Finnegan admitted abuse of two teenage girls and several boys. ³²

“Records depict [Paul J.] Mahan as high-risk sex abuser.” So said the title of a Boston Globe article. Eleven of Garabedian’s clients sued him for abuse at St. Ann Church and St. Joseph Church. Mahan also solicited his nephew, and his family also sued him. He was defrocked in 1998.³³

II: FALL RIVER

In 2021, three credible accusations of sexual abuse were made against James Buckley, Edward Byington, and Richard Degagne for abuse in the Diocese of Fall River. Degagne was suspended in 2019 and Buckley and Byington in 2020. ³⁴ The Fall River Diocese announced that all three had been “credibly accused” of abuse and would not be returned to ministry.³⁵ The three “are not permitted to exercise any public ministry including the celebration of public Mass or of other sacraments. They may not provide spiritual direction, may not wear clerical attire, or present themselves as priests.” ³⁶

Daniel W. Lacroix charged Bishop da Chunha with defamation in 2021.³⁷

III: SPRINGFIELD

Edward George Authier, who died in 1970, was accused in 2019 of abusing a boy in 1960. Bishop Weldon and Clarence Forand also were accused by the same 67-year-old survivor. The diocese lists them as credibly accused.³⁸ Bishop Weldon was accused of abusing at least three minors, one of them a Texas prisoner.³⁹

Daniel B. Daley sued Springfield’s Michael H. Devlin for sexual abuse when Daley was 11 or 12 years old. Devlin was removed from ministry.⁴⁰ Francis P. Lavelle also was sued.

Leo Landry was sued civilly, and pled guilty to two abuse charges in Norfolk County. ⁴¹

John Koonz was named in a suit; three earlier lawsuits against him were settled. ⁴²

Peter J. Caffrey sued Bishop Emeritus Joseph F. Maguire, and former bishop Thomas L. Dupre of ignoring his abuse by Richard Lavigne. A request to add Robert M. Thrasher to the lawsuit was denied.⁴³

Brother Lawrence Gauthier was accused of abusing Mark Leon when Leon was 9-12 years old. Leon claimed there were seven to ten other victims. ⁴⁴ The Springfield Diocese and Priests of the Sacred Heart were the defendants; Gauthier was not.⁴⁵

Sister Mary Jane Vidnansky was sued for sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy in 1974-1976. The plaintiff said Vidnansky got pregnant and had an abortion.⁴⁶ Another sex abuse suit against Vidnansky included priests Roy Jenness, Thomas J. O’Connor, and Alfred C. Graves, and the Springfield diocese. ⁴⁷

IV: WORCESTER

Bernard L. Doheny was accused in a 2005 civil suit of abusing a 10-year-old boy for four years. The Worcester diocese said the allegations were not credible. ⁴⁸ The plaintiff, William E. Burnett, was in Texas prison for committing murder. The lawsuit identified the perpetrators as Doheny, Raymond J. Page, Christopher Weldon, George Berthiaume, Oscar Gatineau, James Walsh, and Timothy J. Harrington. Bishop Harrington was also accused of sexually abusing a boy three times, but the diocese did not find the complaint credible. ⁴⁹

Brother Robert Beaulac was sued in 2002 for abuse in the 1960s. ⁵⁰ George E. Rueger, Diocese of Worcester auxiliary bishop, was accused of rape and sexual abuse. Robert E. Kelley had two lawsuits against him and faced rape charges.

A man sued Assumption College and the Assumptionists because of abuse by John Martin and Brother Robert Beaulac. ⁵¹ A 2018 suit accused Brother Joseph M. Martin of abuse during the 1970s. ⁵² A diocesan investigation found no proof of charges against George Rueger. The plaintiff in the case, Sime M. Braio, filed a lawsuit against Rueger in 2002 saying the abuse started when Braio was 13. The case never went to trial, and Braio halted the judicial proceedings.⁵³ Braio was found dead in his apartment in July 2006.⁵⁴

Both the Diocese of Worcester and Thomas Mahoney were sued for abuse of a minor in the 1970s. John Doe was represented by Carmen Durso. The bishop then relieved Mahoney of his priestly ministry. Mahoney had been ordained in 1968.⁵⁵

Edward Gagne sued Brendon O’Donoghue, Peter J. Inzerillo, Bernard J. Flanagan, Timothy J. Harrington, and Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester about attacks in 1978. Gagne said that he was abused by O’Donoghue and Inzerillo, and that former bishops Flanagan and Harrington were negligent in their employment and supervision of the priests. He alleged that the diocese had covered up and non-disclosed evidence of sexual assaults on children from the 1950s to the 1980s. He also alleged the diocese had not disclosed earlier sexual assaults and their victims, suppressed Gagne’s letters to O’Donoghue, suppressed a study on pedophilia, failed to disclose a key witness and disrupted depositions. The court stated that a church rule that required complainants to report their abuse face-to-face with the pedophile did not violate any Massachusetts statute or rule, nor did the failure to report the abusers to police. The court did not find support for the claim that the church had withheld evidence. The rest of the claims also were unproven at that point, so the court ruled more search of its records by defendants. The plaintiff’s motion for sanctions was denied. ⁵⁶

Chester J. Devlin was sued in 2003 for abuse.⁵⁷

Justin Steponaitis was accused of abuse of an altar boy in 1971-1976. He was sued in 1993, and died in 1995, and the suit was dismissed in 1997. He was also accused of sexually assaulting a boy from 1980 to 1986. ⁵⁸

A 2006 case determined if the bishop could apply $20,000 charitable immunity. Jury trials were to start in two cases against Raymond P. Messier. Another John Doe was going to trial against Henry Banach. Another John Doe was suing Brendan O’Donoghue. A jury trial also was scheduled against John Bagley. Another suit was filed against Leo O’Neil and the diocese, but O’Neil died in 2005 before the 2006 trial.⁵⁹ There were also Doe suits against Bernard R. Reilley, accused of abusing a girl in the 1970s, and Michael L. Carney, accused of abusing a 15-year-old boy.⁶⁰ Lee Bartlett lost his priestly status in 2020.⁶¹

Bishop George E. Rueger was accused in 2002 of rape and abuse of a 13- to 14-year-old boy. Charges were never filed. The victim said the police told him to withdraw his charges. ⁶²

V: CONCLUSION

It was hard to track down all these cases. There are probably many others that I have missed. I welcome your adding your cases or their results to my list. As I keep repeating, I want there to be a record of all the Catholic abuse that was perpetuated in the name of religious freedom.

The complexity of filing these lawsuits and overcoming blocks to them meant that many cases were settled. We look at the settlements in blog post 4.