CALIFORNIA
The Monterey County Herald
montereyherald.com
Posted: 02/17/2012
The Rev. Edward Fitz-Henry filed a cross claim against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey on Wednesday after it paid $500,000 to a man who claimed he was molested by the priest when he was a minor in 2005.
Fitz-Henry was suspended from his role as a priest in January 2011. At the time, he was the popular pastor of Mission San Juan Bautista. “John R.J. Doe,” now in his early 20s, claimed the molestations occurred when he was an altar boy and choir member at Madonna del Sasso Church in Salinas.
Fitz-Henry’s attorney, Daniel de Vries, said the priest is suing because the diocese did not stand by him and defend him. Instead, de Vries said, he learned about the settlement after it had been made.
In a prepared statement released Friday, diocese spokesman Tom Riordan said Fitz-Henry was suing over actions the district made in keeping with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and other church documents.
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