Incomplete witness statement angers diocesan officials

By Margaret M. Russell

It is a “travesty of justice” that the daily newspaper published an incomplete statement of one witness in a civil lawsuit against the diocese, Bishop Reilly’s secretary said Wednesday.

“The article that appeared in the Telegram & Gazette on Wednesday, September 25, 2002, publicizing the partial deposition of Mr. Glen Alexander, was a travesty of justice, particularly since it represented only one part of a deposition yet to be completed and was not identified as such,” Father Rocco Piccolomini, also vicar for clergy, said in a statement.

The deposition is part of pre-court proceedings in the civil lawsuit of Sime Braio of Shrewsbury against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester and George E. Rueger. The deposition of Glen G. Alexander, taken Sept. 10 at the request of the plaintiff, was incomplete because James G. Reardon Jr., the lawyer representing the diocese, had an appointment in court and did not have time to finish questioning Mr. Alexander.

Mr. Braio, 52, filed the civil suit July 10 in Worcester Superior Court, claiming that in the 1960s then Father Rueger molested him when he was an altar boy at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Worcester and while he was at the Lyman School for Boys in Westboro. Bishop Rueger says the allegations against him are “totally unfounded.”

In a telephone interview with The Catholic Free Press last July, after the civil suit was filed, District Attorney John J. Conte said that his office conducted an extensive investigation into Mr. Braio’s allegations over 2 1/2 months and was not able to substantiate the charges.

Mr. Conte said one of Mr. Braio’s claims was that a reporter had pictures of Bishop Rueger in a compromising situation. The investigators spoke to the reporter, who said there were no such pictures, the district attorney said.

The story in Wednesday’s Telegram & Gazette indicates that Mr. Alexander rents an apartment from Mr. Braio and was with him when he made a telephone call to the diocese in February to report the allegation of abuse. He also said he was present when Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, diocesan chancellor, visited Mr. Braio at his home in May, according to the newspaper report.

The statements by Mr. Alexander were taken in the offices of Bourgeois, Dresser & White in response to questions by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Daniel J. Shea of Houston, and Mr. Reardon of Reardon & Reardon of Worcester. The questioning was suspended – to be completed at another time – because of Mr. Reardon’s appointment in court.

Those statements are not yet part of the court record and the deposition wasn’t even finished, explained Robert J. Martin, a lawyer with Mirick O’Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, LLP, who has no connection to the case.

During the discovery phase of a civil lawsuit, witnesses are interviewed by both lawyers before the case goes to trial, he explained. Some statements taken during depositions can later be deemed inadmissible by a judge. Civil lawsuits often take several years before they get to trial and some are settled even before they reach that point.

“My attitude is you don’t try cases in the press. You let the judicial system take care of it and in the end it will get to the absolute truth,” Mr. Martin said.

Msgr. Sullivan said in a statement, “I am very disheartened that the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has ignored the legal process by releasing to the public a portion of Mr. Glen Alexander’s deposition; testimony which is only half complete. The attorneys have not even had the required opportunity to review the matter.”

Responding to statements attributed to Mr. Alexander, Msgr. Sullivan said Wednesday, “On no occasion did I offer Mr. Sime Braio any money. The diocese has not done this when interviewing any alleged victim of sexual abuse. The truth is that Bishop Rueger is completely innocent, and Mr. Braio’s allegations are groundless.”

When the lawsuit was filed in July, Msgr. Sullivan stated that he first spoke to Mr. Braio on Feb. 26 shortly after Mr. Braio left a message that he’d been sexually abused. During several phone conversations that day, Mr. Braio alleged that Bishop Rueger sexually molested him and said he would speak with the media about his alleged ordeal if the diocese did not pay him a sum of money, Msgr. Sullivan said. Mr. Braio did not discuss a specific sum on that occasion, he added.

The Telegram & Gazette reported on July 12 that religion reporter Kathleen A. Shaw said she initially interviewed Mr. Braio in February about his allegations against the auxiliary bishop, but cannot pinpoint the date. No story about the allegation was published at that time.

Father Piccolomini, who is also vicar for clergy, and Msgr. Sullivan are members of the diocesan Initial Review Committee that evaluates sexual abuse allegations against diocesan clergy or employees and reports its findings to the full Pastoral Care Committee. As such they take phone calls and meet with alleged victims to listen to their allegations.

“Mr. Alexander’s statement concerning his second-hand experience of the conversation I had by phone with Mr. Braio implied that I attempted to cover up Mr. Braio’s allegations by telling him that they would damage Bishop Rueger’s reputation. He also implied that I had asked whether his reason for calling was to get money from the diocese,” Father Piccolomini said.

“I did not bring up the subject of money. Never did I discuss money with Mr. Braio in any way,” he said.

“Second, the accusation of cover-up is simply not true. I would not make such a statement to any person who is reporting an incident of sexual abuse. The members of the Pastoral Care Committee, which handles our policies and procedures involving these matters, and I, have encouraged alleged victims with whom we meet to come forward, and we have been very supportive and highly responsive to their needs. We have tried to do everything we can to assist them in the process of healing,” Father Piccolomini stated.

“In like charity, we have tried to be pastorally sensitive to the needs and rights of our brother priests, most especially their right to be protected against false accusations and the right to a just civil and canonical process,” Father Piccolomini stated.

Msgr. Sullivan said, “In 2002, I have interviewed a number of victims of sexual abuse who spoke to me with great candor. I, with the other members of the diocesan Pastoral Care Committee, have dealt with them compassionately and I know in my heart that they would testify to that. With the exception of Mr. Braio, every experience has been a healing one. The most painful aspect of the Braio case is that the reputation and solace of legitimate victims are now being harmed so badly.”