(OSV News) -- A high-profile priest at the center of a Canadian sexual abuse lawsuit and his religious order have told the court that the plaintiff -- a young priest at the time of the alleged abuse -- should have his case first heard by the church, not the state.
A March 1 filing with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice -- the documents for which OSV News has obtained -- also alleges that Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, a Vatican media expert, founder of a prominent Canadian national Catholic television network and organizer of the 2002 Toronto World Youth Day, used his "positions of priest, teacher and guidance counselor" to "exert total control over ... prey upon ... and sexually abuse" a young Canadian priest for several months in 2000.
"It's in the legal hands and I cannot comment," Father Rosica told OSV News Aug. 30 when asked about the case. Father Rosica's attorney, J. David Murphy, also declined to comment to OSV News.
The suit, in which the plaintiff has demanded a jury trial, seeks damages of at least CA$3.7 million plus court costs.
The plaintiff, a now-55-year-old priest named in the suit as "M.B.", also accuses Father Rosica's order, the Basilian Fathers of Toronto, of being "vicariously responsible and liable for the actions of Rosica," as the order allegedly knew of the priest's "unusual interest ... in young males," his "difficulties with alcohol (and) ... sexuality" and "sexual propensity with other male students," which allegedly dated from Father Rosica's seminary days.
The suit also claims that the order disregarded previous complaints, lodged by parents and staff at one of Father Rosica's pastoral assignments, regarding the priest's "actions with young males."
In addition, the plaintiff stated that the Basilians failed to properly screen Father Rosica as a seminarian, warn those who came into contact with him of "his difficulties as a seminarian," and conduct reporting on and counseling for abusive behavior in general.
The suit alleges Father Rosica "groped and fondled" the plaintiff's body, including his genitalia; "exposed himself ... used sexually explicit language and interrogated the plaintiff with respect to his sexuality."
The suit also claims that Father Rosica did so "with a view of implicitly or explicitly helping the plaintiff's career within the church in return for ... sexual advances."
In a defense statement filed with the court documents, Father Rosica denied the plaintiff's allegations and any "close personal relationship with the plaintiff in any capacity" as well as "any position of authority over the plaintiff."
"Father Rosica admits that he had infrequent ministerial contact with the plaintiff between 1996 and 2002, but denies sexually abusing or sexually assaulting or making unwanted physical contact or engaging in any improper conduct with the plaintiff on any of these occasions," said the defense statement.
Father Rosica's defense statement also questioned the court's authority in the matter, saying that "as an ordained priest, the plaintiff's relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, including the Basilians, is governed by canon law and is wholly ecclesiastical in nature. ... The relationship between the parties to this matter and the duties and obligations of the parties are governed by the Codes of Canon Law."
In a separate defense statement, the Basilian Fathers of Toronto echoed that argument, stating that "as an ordained priest, the plaintiff's relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, including the Basilians, is governed by Canon Law and is wholly ecclesiastical in nature."
The Basilian Fathers also countered that "the plaintiff has not accessed and exhausted canon law procedures in relation to the claims alleged."
Both Father Rosica and the Basilian fathers invoked the legal doctrine of laches in their defense statements, claiming the plaintiff had waited an unreasonably long time to come forward with his allegations.
However, the plaintiff said in his claim that he had "only recently been able to face these effects," having been "incapable of proceeding due to the mental and psychological impact of the abuse, including serious addictions."
According to the court documents, the plaintiff claims he suffered "physical pain, mental anguish, nervous shock, humiliation, degradation, shame, guilt ... feelings of worthlessness ... lost of religious life (and) beliefs ... (and) impairment of his physical health, mental health and emotional well-being" due to the alleged abuse.
The plaintiff said in the suit that alcohol addiction, depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction and confusion, post-traumatic stress disorder, relationship and employment difficulties along with suicidal thoughts were all effects of Father Rosica's alleged abuse.
Originally from Rochester, New York, Father Rosica has held a number of high-profile positions with the Catholic Church and its entities. His career within the church took off following World Youth Day in Toronto. He went on to found and run Salt+Light Television in 2003 and was appointed a consultor to the then-Pontifical Council for Social Communication in 2009. In 2013, he was appointed a Vatican spokesman ahead of the conclave that elected Pope Francis and was a media adviser at two Synods of Bishops, in 2008 and 2018.
Father Rosica was also the English-language liaison at the Vatican summit on clergy sexual abuse in February 2019 and English-language media attache of the Holy See press office.
However, that month Father Rosica faced allegations of serial plagiarism in his published works. Within a few months of the scandal breaking that February, he resigned his position at Salt+Light and other entities, including the collegium of the University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto and the boards of the University of St. Thomas in Houston and St. John Fisher College (today a university) in his hometown of Rochester.
Copy Permalink
