By Hector Flores and Judy Rattner
Despite the verdict, an attorney for the victims and an advocates¹ group claim that the Diocese of Rockville Centre, which oversees St. Raphael¹s, has not yet accepted full responsibility.
The jury, which reached a verdict on May 18, ruled that the diocese, St. Raphael¹s and its priest, the Rev. Thomas Haggerty, acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others by failing to protect children from their youth minister, Matthew Maiello.
Maiello, then of Lynbrook, pleaded guilty in 2003 to rape and sodomy of the two plaintiffs, who were 15 when the assaults began, and sentenced to prison for over two years. At the time of Maiello¹s sentencing, his victims, claiming that the punishment was too lenient, filed a $150 million suit against Maiello; his supervisor, Haggerty; the church and the diocese.
After the ruling, Sean Dolan, the diocese spokesman, said that there would be no appeal. ³We, the diocese, humbly accept the verdict handed down by the jury,² he said. ³The important thing to do is to bring closure and healing to the victims, parish and diocese. To appeal the ruling would only open up the wounds and cause more grief, and we don¹t want to do that.²
Michael Dowd of Manhattan, the attorney who represented the victims, said that he is glad that the diocese will not appeal the decision, but added that it has yet to apologize to the victims. ³I think that the diocese must still accept responsibility,² Dowd said. ³They still haven¹t, and my clients also have the same opinion.²
Peggy O¹Neill, a representative of Long Island Voice of the Faithful, an advocacy group that represents victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic church, agreed with Dowd. ³The decision not to appeal the verdict is a step toward healing,² O¹Neill said, ³but no healing can really occur until the church, meaning the hierarchy of the church, the bishop, owns up to what they¹ve done wrong and apologizes specifically to the victims, the survivors of sexual abuse, of which there are many.²
In response to Dowd¹s and O¹Neill¹s statements, Dolan conceded that Maiello caused a great deal of hurt. ³He was the one who caused these acts, and I think that he is the real culprit in all of this,² Dolan said. ³These were terrible acts that began in church property, and we want to make sure that church property remains a safe haven for young people, and we must make sure that this will not happen again.²
The trial
The civil trial was heard by State Supreme Court Justice R. Bruce Cozzens Jr. in Mineola. During the trial, Dowd said that Haggerty had failed the victims by neglecting to do a background check on Maiello. If he had, Dowd maintained, Haggerty would have discovered that Maiello had failed his Bible class while he was a student at Molloy College in Rockville Centre.
Dowd added that after he was hired, Maiello was allowed to take students into his office in the church¹s basement without supervision. There, Dowd said, Maiello would videotape the youths having sex with him and with each other.
Brian Davey, a lawyer for the diocese, said that Haggerty was a victim of Maiello¹s lies. On the witness stand, Haggerty said he would not have hired Maiello if he had known about his poor grades.
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
