SNAP moves on to Philadelphia

The attorney for sex abuse victims in the civil fraud cases against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee sued the Philadelphia Archdiocese on Monday, citing damning grand jury reports that led to criminal charges there last week.

The lawsuit was filed by St. Paul, Minn., attorney Jeffrey Anderson on behalf of a Philadelphia man who alleges he was molested by a deacon and a priest at two separate schools in the 1990s.

It names as defendants Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali and numerous other church officials, including former Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and his secretary of clergy, who was indicted last week on charges of endangering children.

The lawsuit filed in Philadelphia, which accuses the defendants of fraud and conspiracy to endanger children, draws liberally from Philadelphia grand jury reports in 2005 and 2011 that depict a church more concerned with shielding abusive priests than protecting children.

"The evidence presented before us indicates that the Archdiocese continues to engage in practices that mislead victims, that violate their trust, that hinder prosecution of their abusers, and that leave large numbers of credibly accused priests in ministry," jurors said in the 2011 report that led to the criminal charges against four people last week.

A spokesman for the Philadelphia Archdiocese declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday.

Anderson likened the Philadelphia case to those in Milwaukee, where victims accuse the archdiocese of moving abusive priests from parish to parish without telling families of their sexual histories.

"If a grand jury were convened here, it would look a lot like what you see in Philadelphia," said Anderson, whose clients are among the claimants in the Milwaukee Archdiocese bankruptcy case.

A spokeswoman with the Milwaukee Archdiocese did not immediately return telephone calls and e-mails seeking a response.

Last week, prosecutors in Philadelphia filed criminal charges against Monsignor William Lynn, three priests and a parochial school teacher in connection with the sexual assaults of two boys.

JSOnline