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  Goodman Named in New Abuse Suits
Another Former Lincoln Priest Also Stands Accused of Sexual Abuse

LincolnCourier.com [Peoria]
December 2, 2005

Peoria - Defrocked monsignor Norman Goodman and the Rev. Louis Condon - who served Catholic ministries in Lincoln - are two of five priests and a nun in the Peoria Catholic Diocese accused of sexual abuse in nine civil lawsuits filed Wednesday.

Goodman is accused by Daniel Williams and Donald Schroyer, both 40, for alleged assaults between 1975 and 1979 when they were 10 to 15 years old and members of Holy Family Catholic Church, 316 S. Logan St.

The lawsuit also alleges Goodman and Condon sexually assaulted Mary Krusz, now 55.

Krusz alleges she was assaulted by Condon between 1958 and 1960 when she was 6 to 9 years old and a student at St. Mary's Catholic School in Lincoln. Krusz also claims Goodman continued the assaults from 1961 to 1974 while she was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, which later changed its name to Holy Family.

The Peoria Diocese defrocked Goodman in May 2002. Condon, now 83 and living in Moline, retired from the ministry in 1986.

Incidents involving Norman Goodman, a pastor in Lincoln for 35 years, came to the diocese's attention in 1997. In April 1999, the Peoria Diocese reached an undisclosed settlement with 13 former altar boys who accused Goodman of sexual abuse over a 20-year period while he was a pastor at Holy Family.

Condon, 83, denied any allegations of abuse and said he does not remember Mary Krusz, who accused him of inappropriate touching and fondling from 1958 to 1960 at a Lincoln parish.

"This is preposterous. This is conjured up to make money is what it is," Condon said in a telephone interview from his home in Moline.

The lawsuits were filed against the diocese, the clergy members and the parishes where they worked. Some of the alleged incidents, dating as far back as the 1950s, occurred in Logan, Peoria and Tazewell counties.

Other priests named in the lawsuits are the Revs. Walter Breuning, Edward Bush and Toussaint Perron. All of them previously had been removed from public ministry by the diocese, in some cases because of allegations brought by some of those bringing the new lawsuits, diocesan officials said.

Criminal charges have only been brought against Perron, who served three years in prison in the 1990s for sexual assault. It was unclear whether that case involved the man now accusing him.

Also named in one of the lawsuits was "Sister Mary Jane," accused of sexually assaulting a girl in the early 1960s at a Catholic school in Washington. Attorney Frederic Nessler, whose firm filed the lawsuits, wasn't able to give a last name for the nun.

The diocese, in a written statement Wednesday, said, "At this point, the plaintiff's attorneys have not provided sufficient information to the diocese to determine the identity of Sister Mary Jane."

"The Diocese of Peoria takes seriously our obligations to victims, but also must consider the needs of the entire faithful in the Diocese of Peoria," diocesan attorney and chancellor Patricia Gibson said in a statement. "The bishop remains faithful to his promise that all victims of abuse will be offered professional counseling for as long as needed. This alone is an enormous financial commitment that Bishop Jenky will continue to uphold."

The lawsuits were filed in Peoria County Circuit Court after a press conference held by two alleged victims, a victims' group president, family members and other supporters.

At the press conference, Barbara A. Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, demanded that the names of all clergy members accused of sexual abuse be posted on the Peoria diocese's Web site.

"Neighbors who reside close to these men and woman have a right to know," she said.

Jeffrey Jones and Joseph Jones, brothers who filed separate lawsuits and said they were sexually abused by Breuning in the 1960s and '70s while they were members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Pekin, fought tears as they discussed their claims at the press conference.

"I felt dirty, embarrassed and guilty" after the alleged abuse that occurred between 1964 and 1971, Jeffrey Jones, now 52, said Wednesday.

Married with two children, Jeffrey Jones lives in Rockford.

"I don't want anybody to be abused like I was abused," he said, holding up a photo he said showed himself and Breuning.

Joseph Jones, a 55-year-old unemployed nurse, said he was abused one time in the mid-1960s, but it has led to problems such as chronic insomnia and low self-esteem.

"I would just hope the bishop would take a Christian approach to this and do the right thing," he said.

The diocesan statement said Jenky has taken proper steps in dealing with the issue and has made the names of accused priests public

 
 

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