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	194 Bishops Named in Lawsuit By Paul Peirce Pittsburgh Tribune-Review [Pennsylvania] October 4, 2006 http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_473422.html Relatives of a Wisconsin man who was murdered in 2002 when he planned to confront a Roman Catholic priest about child molestation have sued 194 American Catholic bishops to force public disclosure of accused priests. Bishop Lawrence Brandt, of the Greensburg diocese; Bishop Joseph Adamec, of the Altoona-Johnstown diocese; and Bishop Kevin Rhoades, of the Harrisburg diocese, are among the first three bishops in the state to be served with the summonses. The lawsuit, which seeks no monetary damages, was filed in August in St. Croix County Circuit Court, Wis., according to Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn., attorney handling the case. The lawsuit was filed by the family of Daniel O'Connell, a Hudson funeral director who was killed along with one of his workers in February 2002. A state court later found that the Rev. Ryan Erickson likely committed the crime. Erickson committed suicide in December 2004, shortly after he was questioned by police detectives about the shooting deaths. O'Connell had planned a meeting with Erickson to confront him about claims that he had been involved inappropriately with children in the parish. Officials from the Greensburg diocese did not respond to requests for comment. Paul Peirce can be reached at ppeirce@tribweb.com or (724) 850-2860.
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