Church Abuse Victims Seek Information, Not Money

By Jim Collar
The Northwestern
May 24, 2012

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20120523/OSH0101/120523101/Church-abuse-victims-seek-information-not-money?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Two brothers who were sexually assaulted at the hands of a priest in 1978 said their civil lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay was about bringing long-held secrets to light, not money.

Todd and Troy Merryfield, who dropped a claim Wednesday seeking punitive damages, the awards handed down in civil cases as punishment for wrongdoing.

They explained pulling back the church’s “veil of secrecy” was far more important than the $700,000 they were awarded already in the lawsuit after a jury decided Tuesday the church had covered up its knowledge of sexual abuse committed by the Rev. John Feeney before he abused the Merryfields.

The Merryfields implored the diocese to make public all it knows about past sexual abuses committed by clergy.

“The Christian thing to do would be to say, ‘Yes, we were wrong,’” Troy Merryfield said.

Deacon Timothy Reilly reiterated an apology to the Merryfield family in a press statement Wednesday. He said the diocese will continue to adhere to strict policies regarding child safety, including background checks and mandatory reporting of all credible allegations of abuse to law enforcement agencies. Policies call for the diocese to bar from ministry any clergy subject to a credible abuse allegation, the statement says.

“We regret what occurred to Todd and Troy by then-Father John Feeney, as well as the pain and suffering it has caused them and their families,” Reilly wrote.

An Outagamie County jury briefly reconvened on Wednesday for a hearing scheduled to consider punitive damages, but the Merryfields said they weren’t interested in pursuing more money from the church.

“We’re going to claim the high road,” Todd Merryfield said.

In their lawsuit, the Merryfields claimed the diocese knew that Feeney had sexually abused other children before he was appointed pastor of Freedom’s St. Nicholas Church. Troy Merryfield was 12 and Todd Merryfield was 14 when the abuse occurred in 1978.

Feeney was sentenced to prison in 2004 for the sexual assaults of the Merryfields and has since been released.

Jurors agreed the church covered up its knowledge of Feeney’s proclivities, and awarded Troy Merryfield $475,000 and Todd Merryfield $225,000.

On Wednesday, the brothers distributed a packet of documents the jury wasn’t given to consider.

One was a letter from Monsignor Roy Klister to the Merryfields’ parents dated Jan. 23, 1979. It said that “not publicizing the incident and your understanding of the problem was the correct and just approach.”

Troy Merryfield questioned how diocesan leaders could claim ignorance of past abuse given the content of those documents.

“Thou shall not bear false witness,” he said.

Troy Merryfield also referenced a 1983 letter sent to Feeney from Bishop Aloysius Wycislo regarding Feeney’s release from the diocese. Wycislo wrote, “I am capable of forgetting about all this and writing a good letter of recommendation for you to a new bishop.”

“Really?” Troy Merryfield said after reading the passage. “Really? Is that really the Christian way?”

Sharon Merryfield, mother of Todd and Troy, recalled how church officials encouraged silence.

“The bishop said I would be blessed for keeping it quiet, ‘You’re doing the right thing,’ and so we never told a soul,” she said.

Reilly said Monday he respected the jury’s deliberation and decision, but disagreed with its conclusions.

Troy Merryfield, whom Feeney once groped in a church confessional, said the diocese is now in need of confession.

“Atone for your sins,” he said.

Todd Merryfield said he doesn’t expect the church to open that piece of its past.

“They’re more interested in protecting the institution than the children and that’s a pretty sad, sad statement on an operating philosophy,” he said. “I’d be embarrassed to operate that way.”