Bishop Rueger case dropped
By Kevin Luperchio

Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page dismissed without prejudice Wednesday a civil lawsuit against Bishop Rueger. Sime Braio, 52, of Shrewsbury, filed the suit in July 2002 alleging that Bishop Rueger sexually molested him when Mr. Braio was an altar boy at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Worcester and later while he was at the Lyman School for Boys in Westboro. Bishop Rueger has denied the charges.

The suit also alleged that the diocese knowingly concealed information about the alleged assaults. Superior Court Judge Leila R. Kern ruled in September that the diocese could not be held liable in the case since there was no evidence that it knew of the alleged assault before 2001. Mr. Braio, in his complaint, stated he first informed the diocese of the alleged assaults in 2001.

On Wednesday, Mr. Braio asked the court to dismiss the suit without prejudice. He said he had spoken to Captain Thomas G. Greene of the State Police Detective Bureau who advised him to drop the suit in light of an ongoing investigation into the allegations against Bishop Rueger.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Captain Greene said he told Mr. Braio only “to tell the judge that the state police were conducting an investigation into his allegations as reported.”

The investigation began in the spring of 2002 and has been unable to substantiate Mr. Braio’s allegations against Bishop Rueger, Worcester District Attorney John Conte said Thursday.

Mr. Braio also told Judge Page that he was unable to find another lawyer to take his case.

His previous lawyer, Daniel J. Shea of Houston, was allowed to withdraw from the suit in September following Mr. Braio’s decision to dismiss him.

Bishop Rueger released a statement saying he was grateful to Bishop Reilly for his enduring support during this difficult time.

“I am grateful to my brother priests, my sisters in religious life and all our wonderful lay people whose prayers and kind words have sustained me,” the bishop said.

Bishop Reilly released a statement saying he was “grateful for the prayers offered for Bishop Rueger during this difficult time.”

“At a press conference last year, I said, ‘Bishop Rueger has a long and distinguished career as a priest and bishop and it is very sad that false allegations against this noble servant of the Church,’” the bishop said in the letter.

“It is in the same spirit that I write this letter to the people of the diocese today. ... For sixteen months, Bishop Rueger has carried the burden of these terrible allegations in a profoundly Christian and noble manner, and he has never neglected his important responsibilities in the service of the diocese and its people,” the bishop said.

Bishop Reilly released a separate statement Thursday saying that the “ordeal will not diminish our ongoing diocesan program to reach out to those who have been abused and are seeking healing.”

Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, diocesan chancellor, told The Catholic Free Press he was “very relieved that this matter has finally been brought to a conclusion.”

Msgr. Sullivan was the first to speak to Mr. Braio when he came forward in February 2002 with his allegations against Bishop Rueger.

“I have known from day one that Bishop Rueger is totally innocent. I take great joy and comfort in knowing this case has come to a conclusion and Bishop Rueger’s ordeal is now ended,” Msgr. Sullivan said.

The monsignor was named in a separate lawsuit filed by Mr. Braio in July 2003. That suit was also dismissed without prejudice Wednesday at Mr. Braio’s request.

In it, Mr. Braio had alleged that Msgr. Sullivan defamed him by spreading word throughout the diocese that he was HIV positive. Mr. Braio has since undergone an HIV tests, the results of which were negative.

James Reagon, Worcester first assistant district attorney, was also named in the suit for allegedly telling Msgr. Sullivan that Mr. Braio was HIV positive; Mr. Braio later petitioned the court to drop Mr. Reagon from the suit.

Because the cases were dismissed without prejudice, Mr. Braio could bring them again in the future, according to diocesan lawyer James G. Reardon Jr. of Reardon & Reardon, a Worcester law firm.

However, Mr. Reardon said, this is rarely done