NBC 6
September 28, 2006
http://www.nbc6.net/news/9957893/detail.html
Miami -- After a judge dismissed a civil lawsuit accusing a priest of molesting two women, the priest is now asking to be allowed to return to the church.
The Rev. Jan Malicki, who has served as a Roman Catholic priest for more than 30 years, said he is ready to get back to hearing confessions and celebrating Mass. A judge dismissed on Thursday a $50 million civil lawsuit against Malicki that accused him of molesting two women.
"Father Malicki has been cleared of any criminal charges by the Broward state attorney's office," said defense attorney Ellis Rubin.
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| Sept. 28, 2006: After a judge dismissed a civil lawsuit accusing a priest of molesting two women, the priest is now asking to be allowed to return to the church. |
The Archdiocese of Miami said that regardless of the ruling, Malicki's classification as being on a "leave of absence" is unchanged.
"I was a little bit naïve, a whistleblower, and I said too much of the truth, so I was punished," Malicki said.
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| The Rev. Jan Malicki, who has served as a Roman Catholic priest for more than 30 years, said he is ready to get back to hearing confessions and celebrating Mass. A judge dismissed on Thursday a $50 million civil lawsuit against Malicki that accused him of molesting two women. |
Malicki claimed that the archdiocese is against him because while he was at St. David Catholic Church in Davie, he complained about the pastor of that church, who at the time was allegedly well-connected with some of the archdiocese's top clergy, NBC 6's Tom Llamas reported.
In 1998, when Malicki was first accused of the sexual misconduct, the archdiocese suspended him and then went public with the allegations before he was ever charged.
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| "Father Malicki has been cleared of any criminal charges by the Broward state attorney's office," said defense attorney Ellis Rubin. |
"They called a press conference and said, 'Father Jan Malicki's arrest is imminent,' and it wasn't," Rubin said.
"The archdiocese unjustly took away my good name, my life of priesthood and carried out my character assassination," Malicki said.
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| The Archdiocese of Miami said that regardless of the ruling, Malicki's classification as being on a "leave of absence" is unchanged. |
The state attorney's office dropped the criminal case against Malicki in 2002 because of a lack of physical evidence. Rubin said the civil case was dropped because the two accusers did not proceed with the prosecution.
"If the church is at all merciful and moral and ethical as it claims to be, they will do what's right," Rubin said.
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| "I was a little bit naïve, a whistleblower, and I said too much of the truth, so I was punished," Malicki said. |
The archdiocese did not want to comment further on the case.
Rubin said they will go after the women who brought the charges against Malicki, Llamas reported.
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