Scranton diocese seeks dismissal of sex abuse suit

Standard-Speaker - 2/22/2020

Feb. 22--SCRANTON -- A lawsuit filed by a man who claims the Rev. William Jeffrey Paulish molested him should be dismissed because there's no evidence church officials knew he was a danger before the alleged incidents occurred, attorneys for the Diocese of Scranton argued at a hearing Thursday.

Attorneys Michael O'Brien and Kevin Raphael cited the 2018 statewide grand jury report on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. They contend the report shows church officials did not learn of suspicions about Paulish, who served at numerous churches in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, until he was charged in 2013 for having sex with a minor. That was seven years after the plaintiff, who is identified in the suit under the pseudonym "Richard Roe" to protect his identity, says he was molested.

The timing is important because it refutes a key claim in the man's lawsuit that church officials knew Paulish was a sexual predator, but concealed the information, O'Brien said.

"There is nothing ... that says the Diocese of Scranton had knowledge prior to 2013," O'Brien said at the hearing before Lackawanna County Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle. "You can't conceal something if you have no knowledge of it."

The plaintiff's attorney, Gerald Williams, disputed O'Brien's interpretation of the grand jury report. He said the report states only that the diocese was notified of Paulish's arrest. It says nothing about whether the diocese was alerted to suspicions about him before then.

Williams said other information clearly indicates the church knew of problems with Paulish, who was transferred 11 times and granted four leaves of absence between 1991 and 2013. Among other assignments, Paulish served for a time at Most Precious Blood parish in Hazleton.

"They failed to screen Paulish properly and allowed him to have access to children, despite knowing of his tendencies," Williams said. "Not only did they have knowledge, they intentionally covered it up."

The suit, filed in 2018, alleges Paulish abused him between October 2006 to May 2007, when he was a 15-year-old altar boy at St. Mary's Church, now known as the Prince of Peace Parish, in Old Forge.

Paulish remained at St. Mary's until July 2008. He served at three more churches until September 2013, when he was arrested after he was found performing a sex act with a boy in a parked car at the Penn State Worthington Scranton campus in Dunmore. He pleaded guilty in February 2014 to corruption of a minor and was sentenced in June 2014 to eight to 23 months in jail.

The lawsuit seeks damages on several counts, including negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent concealment. It names as defendants the diocese, Paulish, current bishop the Most. Rev. Joseph C. Bambera and retired bishops James C. Timlin and Joseph F. Martino.

O'Brien, who represents the diocese, and Raphael, who represents the bishops, also raised several other issues that challenge the legal sufficiency of the man's claims. Moyle took the matter under advisement and will issue a ruling later.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbesckerTT on Twitter

Ordained as a priest in 1988, William Jeffrey Paulish served as a priest at Our Lady of Snows Church, Newton Twp.; Annunciation Church, Williamsport; St. Cecelia's Church, Exeter; Most Precious Blood Church, Hazleton; Sacred Heart, Blakely; St. Joseph's Church, Scranton; Immaculate Conception Church and St. John the Baptist Church, Taylor; St. Patrick's Church, Scranton; St. Mary's Church, Old Forge; Holy Cross Church, Olyphant; Prince of Peace Church, Old Forge; pastor at St. Francis Xavier, Friendsville; St. Patrick's Church, Middletown; St. Thomas the Apostle, Little Meadows; and St. Elizabeth Church, Bear Creek Twp.; and chaplain, Little Flower Manor, Wilkes-Barre; and St. Mary's Villa, Elmhurst Twp., according to the grand jury report.