Supplements

archive ISSUE

judgment returned against diocese: jury awards $5 million to plaintiff

By LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

The Diocese of Belleville was handed a $5 million verdict for fraudulently concealing information from a plaintiff which prevented him from filing his lawsuit sooner against the diocese.

James Wisniewski, now 47, filed a civil suit against the diocese for abuse that he said took place beginning in 1973 when he was 12 years old that continued until 1978.

Another case against Father Kownacki has been filed in St. Clair County Court alleging sexual abuse of a minor. No court date has been set in that case.

At the time Mr. Wisniewski was a boy, Father Raymond Kownacki was pastor at St. Theresa of Avila Parish in Salem where the Wisniewski family belonged, and where his parents continue to be parishioners.

The diocese contended that several statutes, including the statute of limitations, should apply.
Judge Lloyd Cueto, the trial judge, told the jury that if they determined the diocese fraudulently concealed documents from Mr. Wisniewski, the statute of limitations could be set aside, and the jury could then award damages to the plaintiff.

Father Kownacki was removed from ministry in 1995 by a Diocesan Review Board.
The Review Board was established in 1993 to look into allegations of clerical sexual abuse of minors and make recommendations to the bishop about whether to remove a priest from ministry because those allegations were credible.

In 1995, then Bishop Wilton Gregory turned over the file of Father Kownacki to the Review Board and upon their recommendation, placed him on administrative leave.
Father Kownacki now lives in Dupo and did not attend the trial.

In an Aug. 28 statement, Father Jack McEvilly, diocesan vicar general, said: “When Bishop Edward K. Braxton returns, diocesan officials will meet to determine a course of action.

“We pray that for all of us this is a point from which we can go forward and truly begin to heal,” Father McEvilly said.
Father McEvilly spoke briefly at a prayer service Aug. 28 held with diocesan employees to pray for church leaders, the diocese, clergy, religious and laity.
At the prayer service, diocesan staff also prayed for “all of those who suffer from abuse of any kind, physical or mental — that the Lord will give them hope, courage and peace.”
James Wisniewski filed the lawsuit against the diocese in 2002, and originally named Father Kownacki as a party to the lawsuit. He later dropped Father Kownacki from the suit and made the diocese the sole party, alleging the diocese fraudulently concealed documents and misrepresented various facts regarding sexual abuse he suffered for five years while he was growing up in Salem.

Mr. Wisniewski now lives in Champaign, Ill., with his wife and two children.
He filed the lawsuit, he said, after he was unable to keep memories of the abuse out of his mind. When his wife asked him if he had been abused, he told her what had happened to him.
When the lawsuit was filed in October 2002, the diocese initially turned over more than 400 documents to the plaintiff’s attorneys.

When those attorneys asked for Father Kownacki’s mental health records, diocesan lawyers refused to comply because of privacy laws.

The diocese was upheld in the Illinois Supreme Court, and they did not turn over Father Kownacki’s mental health records. However, taking this lawsuit all the way to the state Supreme Court took time and delayed the recent lawsuit from going to trial.

The case finally went to trial Aug. 18 and lasted eight and a half days.
Many of the documents were produced during the trial, but attention was focused on a memo that contained Mr. Wisniewski’s name in relation to Father Kownacki and the abuse of boys at St. Theresa’s Parish in Salem.

In his testimony, Mr. Wisniewski said the parish was not informed of any allegations of sexual abuse against Father Kownacki when he became the pastor in 1973.

“He (Father Kownacki) told me the church condoned this kind of thing,” Mr. Wisniewski said.
Mr. Wisniewski testified Father Kownacki told him not to tell anyone about the abuse and threatened him and his family if he did.

“He said he would tell people I was gay and would ruin my parents’ business,” Mr. Wisniewski said.

Msgr. James Margason, diocesan vicar general in 1983, admitted in court that he was aware of the memo that included Mr. Wisniewski’s name. However, that memo was not included in the file that was turned over to the Review Board in 1995, and it was unclear where that memo was when the file was turned over.

Archbishop Gregory said he had never seen the memo. The archbishop was questioned by the plaintiff’s attorney, Michael Weilmuenster, about the diocese’s knowledge and the apparent policy of transferring Father Kownacki to a number of different parishes.

Weilmuenster asked the archbishop if the diocese knew about Father Kownacki’s abusive history, wasn’t the diocese responsible for what happened to Mr. Wisniewski?

“The jury will have to decide what should be done,” the archbishop said.
Later, Msgr. Margason took the stand for the defense and described the diocese to the jury as occupying the southernmost 28 counties in southern Illinois with more than 110 parishes. He also outlined the ministries the diocese undertakes to fulfill its mission to the Catholics in southern Illinois.

During his time as vicar general, Msgr. Margason served under a number of previous bishops including Archbishop Gregory and the now-retired Archbishop James Keleher. Msgr. Margason was also elected diocesan administrator several times after a bishop died or was reassigned.

Msgr. Margason said he investigated complaints about Father Kownacki at the parishes in Harrisburg and Valmeyer, where he was sent after Salem.

In both instances, he said, he found no evidence of sexual abuse. In his investigation in Valmeyer he said he interviewed boys in the parish and Father Kownacki.

In both parishes, Msgr. Margason said Father Kownacki was removed and transferred to another parish because of “drinking and misappropriation of parish funds.” Msgr. Margason said he did not write a report about his investigations in either of the two parishes, and Father Kownacki was transferred again.

The diocese offered counseling to any victims that came forward, Msgr. Margason said.
However, when he was questioned about the 1982 memo containing Mr. Wisniewski’s name and his responsibility to turn the information over to the Review Board, Msgr. Margason admitted that he did not comply with that policy.
The jury returned its verdict, finding for the plaintiff and assessed compensatory damages of $2.4 million for pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical care and the loss of a normal life. The jury assessed $2.6 million in punitive damages against the diocese.

Mr. Mel Wisniewski, James’ father, who attended the eight days of the trial said: “To say this hasn’t shaken our faith would be less than truthful, but in any organization there are good and bad people. “The worst part of this was the diocese knew about it and didn’t tell a soul.”

However, Mr. Mel Wisniewski said he “has been a Catholic all of my life and will continue to be Catholic; it’s just something that’s inside.”