06:13 PM MST on Friday, April 16, 2004

By Stephanie Innes / Arizona Daily Star

Lawyers representing men who say they were abused by local priests want the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson to stop crying poor.

Plaintiff attorneys Lynne M. Cadigan and Kim E. Williamson say the local diocese is concealing its true wealth by putting money into entities like the Catholic Foundation to avoid paying victims of priest abuse. The attorneys say the diocese has been waging a media campaign of poverty to get sympathy from parishioners - and potential jurors.

Denying the allegations, Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas on Thursday said the diocese has been nothing but candid in sharing information about its finances with parishioners.

"The resources are quite limited, although our intent and desire is to continue to try to respond to the pain and hurt of victims and provide for them wherever possible," Kicanas said. "We are assessing the credibility of the claims and responding the best way we can."

The allegations are outlined in a motion filed in Pima County Superior Court in connection with one of 18 pending civil actions against the diocese that allege sexual abuse by clergy. The case, involving claims by Phoenix resident Robert J. Lehner, is scheduled to go to trial next month.

Cadigan and Williamson, who represent 13 of the plaintiffs in the 18 legal actions, maintain the diocese's claim of limited resources is misleading. The Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson, for example, has $11 million in assets, according to paperwork filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2003. The foundation is not part of the diocese's financial report, though Kicanas is a member of the board.

Kicanas says organizations like Catholic Community Services, the Catholic Foundation and individual parishes operate as separate entities, though a portion of parish collections go toward the diocesan budget.

According to the diocese's financial report for fiscal year 2002-03, it has a long-term debt of $4.7 million and a deficit of $7 million, and its budget director has said it could be 10 years before finances are in the black.

The attorneys want the court to exclude any evidence from the diocese inferring a potential bankruptcy or inability to pay a settlement to men like Lehner. They also want the court to transfer Lehner's case out of Tucson.

"The victims are portrayed by the diocese as being only interested in money," the motion states, arguing that with so many Catholics in the Tucson area viewing Kicanas as their spiritual leader, the jury pool could be tainted.

Lehner, 46, grew up in Tucson and sued the diocese in the fall of 2002, claiming he had recovered memories of abuse by Monsignor Robert C. Trupia.

Trupia, who continues to collect a monthly stipend from the diocese, was named in six of 11 lawsuits alleging priest sexual abuse the diocese settled in January 2002 with 10 men and their families. The amount was sealed but experts have placed the payout as high as $16 million. Diocese officials say the payout created a financial hardship.

"In response to the first victims, our understanding then was that was the extent of the issue," Kicanas said. "We did the best to respond to the demands of the plaintiffs, primarily out of a desire to begin a process of healing."

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©The Arizona Daily Star, 2004