Diocese asks judge to limit abuse lawsuits

WORCESTER -- The Diocese of Worcester asked a judge yesterday to dismiss or limit lawsuits filed by a dozen men who say that the church hierarchy was grossly negligent in its handling of sexual abuse by clergy dating back to the 1950s.

The request was another illustration of the stance taken by the diocese, which has offered much smaller sums to settle abuse lawsuits than the amounts paid by the Archdiocese of Boston.

Eunice White, whose son alleged that a priest at Sacred Heart Church in Worcester abused him at the pastor's private campground in 1980 when he was 9, called the diocese's efforts to dismiss his suit ludicrous. She also bristled that such complaints are called allegations.

''It happened," she said. ''It happened to hundreds and hundreds of boys in the world, and it's time the church took responsibility."

Joanne L. Goulka, a lawyer for the diocese, asked Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Locke to dismiss suits filed by 12 people -- or cap the potential damages each could collect at $20,000 -- based on three legal arguments.

First, she contended that the First Amendment right to freedom of religion bars the state from interfering with the ''internal workings" of the diocese, including matters such as how the bishop assigns parish priests. Second, she said the statute of limitations for those allegedly molested had expired.

Finally, Goulka said that if the judge allowed the suits to go to trial, the most each plaintiff should be able to collect is $20,000 because the Legislature imposed a ''charitable immunity" cap in 1971.

Locke, who took the request under advisement, seemed skeptical about some of Goulka's arguments, in particular her contention that the suits concern religious matters outside the courts' authority.

In that case, he asked, does the First Amendment preclude any negligence claim involving the diocese? ''Give me an example of a circumstance where the court could be involved," he said.

Goulka responded that if a priest negligently operated a car, or someone slipped on the ice in front of a church, then a negligence suit could properly go to trial.

But, she said, how the diocese handles a sexual abuse complaint against a priest -- say, whether his supervisor decides to reassign him or limit his activities -- is a religious matter reserved for the church hierarchy.

Carmen L. Durso, a lawyer for six men who say they were molested, parried all of Goulka's arguments.

When considering whether the complaints of sexual abuse go to trial, he said, the court must balance religious freedom and concerns about the safety and well-being of citizens.

He also said that the statute of limitations had not expired.

The legal deadline for filing negligence claims is three years. State law, however, allows people to file suits for sexual abuse that occurred decades earlier if they have recalled the abuse or connected it to psychological problems they have within the past three years, he said.

Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com.