BishopAccountability.org
 
  Catholic Priest Changed after Parish Pushes Back over Abuse Suit

By Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Lez Get Real
August 28 2010

http://lezgetreal.com/2010/08/catholic-priest-changed-after-parish-complains/

Early this summer, the congregation at St. Malachy Catholic Church refused to accept as their priest Reverend Vien Van Do. The priest, who is originally from Vietnam, was rejected because in 1999, a lawsuit was brought against him and the Peoria Diocese by a couple from Monticello. According to the suit, Do had molested the woman. The records of the settlement were sealed after Do and the Peoria Diocese settled the case in Peoria County Circuit Court in 2002.

St. Malachy’s in Rantoul, Illinois had never had a priest changed over an internal rebellion. According to Phillip Warner, one of the church trustees and a member of the church since 1943, “It’s the first one they’ve ever changed.” Do was appointed to the parish by Bishop Daniel Jenky, the head of the diocese. The parish learned of the changes in May, and Warner began holding parish meetings soon there after. The result of the meetings was a set of letters sent to the bishop.

Warner has also stated “There was enough local people that had issues about [Do]. People in Thomasboro and Ludlow, where he had been before, also had issues.” Do has had nothing to say publicly about the change.

According to the information available around the suit, Do, who was the pastor at St. Philomena’s in Monticello, engaged in “inappropriate sexual contact [that] progressed from repetitive hugging to unsolicited and unwanted kissing, touching and fondling of Jane Doe’s breasts” The suit also alleged that the woman’s husband was threatened with loss of his title as deacon by a diocesan official if he had spoken publicly about incidents. The diocese denied the allegations and Do was put on a leave of absence in 1998.

Do then went into some counseling and was later cleared to return to work. He took another leave of absence in 1999.

According to Monsignor Paul Showalter, the decision to pull Do from his assignment to St. Malachy had nothting to do with the suit. He released a statement “Father Vien Van Do is a priest in good standing. The changes to his assignment to St. Malachy Church in Rantoul were due to his desire to stay at his present assignment as well as routine personnel changes.”

Warner has a different story to tell about the change, though. According to him, “When push came to shove, I got a hold of Monsignor (Albert) Hallin, vicar of Champaign (a group of 22 area churches) and he came up to talk to us.” Hallin stated of Do, though, that he is “unfortunately, not familiar with American customs and kinds of distance required of people not married or related.” After the suit was settled, the Church impressed upon him that his behavior was not appropiate.

According to Hallin “When that (Do appointment) hit the (St. Malachy) community in Rantoul … it didn’t help that we (Catholics) have had more problems with clergy sexual abuse… You don’t tell the bishop what to do, but in most matters like this he asks, ‘What do you think?’ . . .I said, ‘It won’t work (to appoint Do); you need to do something different.’ . . .Then the bishop asked Father Bird and I think it’s a marriage made in heaven. He has enough personality, tact and quiet demeanor.”

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.