DIOCESE OF LEXINGTON KY

Accused Priests: 7
Total Priests: 129
Claims: 32 (of which 24 were against Rev. Leonard Nienaber)
Cost: $158,750 (of which $15,000 in one settlement, $48,548 in legal fees, $69,151 for therapy for victims, and $26,051 for treatment for priests)

Lexington reports abuse allegations

From staff and wire reports
Kentucky Post
February 25, 2004

http://www.kypost.com/2004/02/25/lex022504.html

LEXINGTON -- Since its creation in 1988, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington has received reports from 32 people of sexual abuse by seven priests.

But all of those took place when the 50-county diocese and its priests were part of the Diocese of Covington.

Lexington Bishop Ronald W. Gainer mailed a letter to 15,500 households in the diocese's 50 counties in central and eastern Kentucky that detailed that information, which was provided for a national survey to be released on Friday.

Details from the Covington diocese report

• The Covington diocese's report that 35 of its 364 priests were abusive amounts to 9.6 percent.

• The diocese said 16 of the 35 priests have died, five have been removed from the priesthood and 14 have been permanently removed from active ministry.

• Of the $14.3 million spent for settlements, counseling and legal fees, the diocese's insurer paid $9.4 million and the diocese itself paid the other $4.9 million from investment income.

• Officials said none of the money spent on sexual abuse cases has come from parish assessments or the Diocesan Annual Appeal or from the sale of real estate.

Seven of the Lexington diocese's 129 priests were accused, Gainer said. That includes one priest who became a bishop, four diocesan priests and two priests from an outside diocese or religious order.

Twenty-four of the 32 claims were against the Rev. Leonard Nienaber, who has been ordered to spend the rest of his life at a Catholic treatment center in Missouri for his 1994 conviction on 10 counts of child sex abuse.

One accused priest is dead and the rest are no longer in active ministry, diocesan spokesman Thomas Shaughnessy said.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops authorized the unprecedented national study to restore trust in their leadership following waves of revelations about abusive priests.

The John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York was commissioned to conduct the survey based on statistics provided by individual dioceses.

Gainer, who became bishop last February, said in his letter that he wanted to release the diocese's figures in order to "be transparent regarding the internal matters of the diocese."

His predecessor, J. Kendrick Williams, resigned in June 2002 after three men accused him of sexual abuse when they were children.

The abuse was alleged to have occurred while Williams was serving as a pastor for the Archdiocese of Louisville. Williams denied the allegations.

"These figures, as well as those to be released by the national survey, are alarming and disheartening," Gainer wrote. "However, I am firmly convinced that this is a necessary step toward a holier and healthier church."

Gainer also reported that the diocese's insurance has paid $15,000 in one settlement and $48,548 in legal fees.

In addition, $69,151 was paid for therapy for victims, and $26,051 for treatment for priests.

All the incidents reported since the Lexington Diocese's creation took place before its creation.

During that time, churches in central and eastern Kentucky were part of the Covington diocese.

So, the courts in Lexington ruled, the Covington diocese should be responsible for the civil suits filed against now-Lexington diocese priests.

Covington released its first report of numerical incidents of abuse from 1950 to 1990 as reported to the John Jay study in August. It then released an update of those figures last Friday.

In August, the Covington Diocese reported that 30 priests had abused 158 people and noted that $4.2 million had been spent to settle claims by victims.

Since then, "news reports about this situation have encouraged previously reluctant victims to come forward," said diocese spokesman Tim Fitzgerald.

"Also, Bishop (Roger) Foys is very active in reaching out in a pastoral way to victims and that, too, has encouraged victims to come forward."

As a result, the number of diocesan priests who were abusive from 1950 to 1990 has increased from 30, the number reported six months ago, to 35 and the number of victims has increased from 158 to 205, according to the Covington Diocese.

The diocese also announced that the amount paid in settlements to victims is now more than $14 million.

All cases reported by Covington occurred before 1990, diocese officials said.

Those payments include the settlement of a number of claims by victims whose parishes are now part of the Lexington diocese.

Those victims sued in Fayette County courts but the responsibility for the suits was transferred to Covington.

Attorneys for the diocese have been engaged in settling those cases and Bishop Foys has met personally with victims to offer an apology.

The settlement of the Lexington cases and other Northern Kentucky settlements brings to 39 the total number of victims the diocese has settled with since September, said Carrie Huff, a Chicago attorney working for the diocese.

The average payout for the Covington Diocese has been $212,820 per person, nearly twice as much as the $105,761 average for the Archdiocese of Louisville, which paid $25.7 million to settle 243 lawsuits last June.

The Covington diocese still faces a class-action suit brought by Stan Chesley, a Cincinnati attorney, on behalf of what he says could be hundreds or thousands of victims.

"We know of 51 abusive priests since 1956," he said. "We believe there could be several thousand victims.

Diocese spokesman Tim Fitzgerald said that Chesley's claim of several thousand victims is not supported by Chesley's firm's testimony in court.

"From the transcript in court Feb. 5, 2004, Mr. Steinberg, Chesley's associate, admitted in open court that no more than 110 classmembers, including 10 class representatives have presented credible claims against anyone associated with the diocese, including lay teachers, nuns, religious brothers and priests," Fitzgerald said.

Covington Bishop Roger Foys voluntarily released the updated numbers, Fitzgerald said.

The release was not required, but the bishop wants to be forthcoming with this information to promote appreciation of the seriousness of the problem the church must address and to promote greater understanding, Fitzgerald said.

Cincinnati was expected to release its abuse numbers today in "The Catholic Telegraph." All dioceses across the country must release their findings by Friday, according to the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops.

Sue Archibald, director of a Louisville-based group, The Linkup -- Survivors of Clergy Abuse, predicted that the Covington diocese abuse numbers will continue to increase.

"We expect the numbers in every diocese to be written in pencil vs. pen since they will change as more victims come forward," she said. "It's an unfinished book right now.

Lexington diocese airs reports of sexual abuse
Seven priests named in accounts coming from 32 people

By Ellen R. Stapleton
Associated Press, carried in the Louisville Courier Journal
February 25, 2004

http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/02/25ky/met-3-abuse02250-3842.html

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Since its creation in 1988, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington has received reports of sexual abuse by seven priests.

Bishop Ronald W. Gainer mailed a letter to 15,500 households in the diocese's 50 counties in Central and Eastern Kentucky that said the reports came from 32 people. The information was provided for a national survey to be released Friday.

Seven of the diocese's 129 priests were accused, Gainer said. One of those priests eventually became a bishop, four were diocesan priests and two were priests from an outside diocese or religious order.

Twenty-four of the 32 claims were against the Rev. Leonard Nienaber, who has been ordered to spend the rest of his life at a Catholic treatment center in Missouri for his 1994 conviction on 10 counts of child sex abuse.

One accused priest is dead and the rest are no longer in active ministry, diocesan spokesman Thomas Shaughnessy said.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops authorized the national study to try to restore trust in church leadership following waves of revelations about abusive priests. The John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York was commissioned to conduct the survey based on statistics provided by individual dioceses.

Gainer, who became bishop last February, said in his letter that he wanted to release the diocese's figures to "be transparent regarding the internal matters of the diocese."

His predecessor, J. Kendrick Williams, resigned in June 2002 after three men accused him of sexual abuse from when they were children. The abuse was alleged to have occurred while Williams was serving in the Archdiocese of Louisville. Williams denied the allegations.

"These figures, as well as those to be released by the national survey, are alarming and disheartening," Gainer wrote. "However, I am firmly convinced that this is a necessary step toward a holier and healthier church."

Gainer also reported that the diocese's insurance has paid $15,000 in one settlement and $48,548 in legal fees. In addition, $69,151 was paid for therapy for victims and $26,051 for treatment for priests.

Before 1988, most of the territory in the diocese was part of the Diocese of Covington in Northern Kentucky. All reported abuse incidents took place before the Lexington diocese was established.