Church in
Crisis Documents in Milwaukee abuse case unsealed
By GILL DONOVAN
Legal documents previously under court seal detailing sex abuse
allegations against a priest have been opened following the request of a
newspaper, this time in Milwaukee. The records detail allegations brought
against Fr. William Effinger in 1993 and were made open to the public April
4.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel successfully filed a
motion to open them following The Boston Globes successful Jan. 23
court appeal to open archdiocesan records relating to allegations made against
John Geoghan, a former priest accused of molesting over 130 children and now
serving a 10-year sentence on one sex abuse charge (NCR, Feb. 1).
The opening of the thousands of pages of documents in Milwaukee
came four days before documents were opened in Boston detailing Fr. Paul
Shanleys history of sexually abusing minors (NCR, April 19).
The Journal Sentinel, which first reported on the
circumstances in the case of Effinger in 1993, said the documents reveal
legal hardball tactics employed by the archdiocese including
lengthy depositions of victims and, in some cases, demands that plaintiffs pay
the archdioceses court costs.
One of the victims, Joseph Cerniglia, alleged that Effinger abused
him on Holy Saturday in 1979 when Effinger was assigned to St. Francis de Sales
Church in Lake Geneva, Wis. Cerniglia, then 13 years old, was an altar boy.
Effinger had requested and received permission from Cerniglias parents to
allow Cerniglia to stay overnight so that the boy wouldnt have to get up
early to prepare for Easter services.
Cerneglia told his parents of the abuse later that day, and they
confronted first Effinger and sometime later Archbishop Rembert Weakland.
Though Weakland assured the parents that Effinger would not be
allowed to abuse anyone else, Weakland said, according a Washington Post
story April 13, It would be best if we kept this quiet for the kids
sake.
It would later be revealed that another allegation of sex abuse of
a child by the priest reached Weakland at that time. Yet, after a psychological
evaluation, Weakland transferred Effinger to the Holy Name Parish in Sheboygan,
Wis., in the fall of the same year.
Over a decade later, Effinger was convicted of sexually assaulting
a 14-year-old boy. In 1996, he died of cancer while in prison.
Weakland decided not to tell anyone at Holy Name of
Effingers history of abuse. In a deposition, he said, I
deliberately kept it [secret], yes. I didnt think it should be divulged
at that time or it was useful.
Cerniglias 1993 lawsuit was dismissed in 1994 after, records
reveal, his parents had sat through lengthy and emotional depositions, when the
court ruled that the statute of limitations in the case had already expired.
The archdiocese then attempted to collect $4,000 from Cerniglia in legal fees,
a charge he has refused to pay.
The documents further reveal that the archdiocese has moved to
collect court costs against plaintiffs in other cases brought against
Effinger.
Jerry Topczewski, archdiocesan director of communication, told
The Washington Post that Weakland would not comment on the unsealed
documents. The spokesman said, The archbishop has acknowledged that not
all the decisions he has made were correct, nor would he always do the same
thing today.
Gill Donovan is a writer for NCR. His e-mail address is
gdonovan@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, May 3, 2002
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