March 30. 2003 12:00AM

Diocese to fight deposition
Ban on transcripts release sought in Rueger lawsuit

Richard Nangle
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF


WORCESTER- A lawyer for the Catholic Diocese of Worcester will ask a Superior Court judge tomorrow to limit the scope of a deposition that Bishop Daniel P. Reilly is to give later in the day in connection with a lawsuit that accuses Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger of rape of a child.

James G. Reardon Jr., a lawyer for the diocese, wants to prevent the public release of court documents, specifically depositions, generated by the lawsuit. He also is seeking to delay discovery in the case until the court rules on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Daniel J. Shea of Houston, the lawyer for plaintiff Sime J. Braio of Shrewsbury, will argue that thorough questioning of Bishop Reilly is necessary in order to properly represent his client. He will argue that Bishop Reilly's public defense of Bishop Rueger and threat to bring extortion charges against Mr. Braio warrants that questioning.

"I'm trying to agree with Mr. Shea on parameters and timing,' Mr. Reardon said. "I'm not seeking to prevent Bishop Reilly's deposition.'

Mr. Shea said he sees the matter differently.

"They're trying to stop Bishop Reilly's deposition,' he said, adding "This is something that would preclude the lawyers from providing discovery materials to the press.' He noted that a Boston judge endorsed the release of discovery materials as they relate to the sex abuse scandal in the Boston Archdiocese. The same rules should apply in Worcester, he said.

Mr. Reardon said Mr. Shea, in a March 21 letter, indicated "he is unwilling to discuss the terms or scope of Bishop Reilly's deposition.

"Attorney Shea has indicated that he wishes to examine Bishop Reilly regarding the House of Affirmation and the diocese's policies and procedures,' Mr. Reardon wrote, adding that the Braio complaint contains no allegations about the House of Affirmation.

"The only possible explanation for plaintiff's planned discovery regarding the House of Affirmation is that he hopes to discover information that would lead to a different claim against the House of Affirmation, the named defendants or perhaps some other individual entity,' Mr. Reardon wrote. "This is not a sound basis for discovery.

"Nor is there any basis for examining Bishop Reilly with regard to the diocese's policies and procedures,' Mr. Reardon wrote.

Mr. Reardon further argued, "It is apparent that part of Attorney Shea's motivation in taking these depositions is to look for information regarding the House of Affirmation and to release these transcripts to the media, including the Telegram & Gazette, for the purpose of garnering pretrial publicity harmful to the defense of these cases. ... This court should also take steps to prevent harmful pretrial publicity from affecting potential jurors in this case.'

Mr. Shea said he takes issue with Mr. Reardon's contention that matters of discovery have to be kept from the public in order to ensure a fair trial for Bishop Rueger.

"They had a sidewalk news conference and accused Mr. Braio of being an extortionist,' Mr. Shea said.

"I want to talk to Bishop Reilly about things he knows about the House of Affirmation from the 1970s,' he said.

The House of Affirmation in Whitinsville was founded to provide treatment for priests for a variety of psychological problems, including sexual issues. Some local victims of clergy sexual abuse claim it served as a recruitment center for pedophile priests. The House of Affirmation opened in 1970 and closed in 1989.

Mr. Reardon argued in a court filing that "Bishop Reilly is not aware of diocesan policies and procedures prior to the date he became bishop of Worcester.' Bishop Reilly took over the Worcester Diocese in December 1994 after 19 years as bishop of Norwich, Conn.

Mr. Braio's lawsuit alleges that Bishop Rueger, then a parish priest, began sexually molesting him in the early 1960s when he was 13. The suit alleges that the abuse resulted in behavior that landed Mr. Braio, now 52, in the former Lyman School for Boys in Westboro.

In a July letter to parishioners shortly after the Braio lawsuit was filed, Bishop Reilly wrote that as Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan "stated to the media, the claims made by the accuser to the diocese have been spurious and, indeed, attempts at extorting money from the church at the expense of Bishop Rueger.'

Richard Nangle can be reached by e-mail at rnangle@telegram.com.