BishopAccountability.org
	Civil Trial in Priest Abuse Case Set to Start Lawsuit Blames Oakland Diocese for Failing to Protect Brothers Inside Bay Area, carried in The Argus [Hayward CA] March 23, 2005 HAYWARD — Opening statements are scheduled for Monday in the civil trial of two brothers suing the Diocese of Oakland over their alleged molestation by a former priest. Jury selection was completed Tuesday morning, with the panel instructed to return Monday. Between now and then, attorneys for Robert and Tom Thatcher and for the diocese will be back before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Harry Sheppard to discuss guidelines for evidence to be introduced at trial. Richard Simons, the Thatchers' attorney, said questions remain regarding how much of former priest Robert Ponciroli's personnel file can be admitted and how extensive the testimony can be from other alleged victims. The Thatcher brothers claim they were molested more than 20 years ago by Ponciroli, then the pastor at Antioch's St. Ignatius Church. Ponciroli since has been defrocked, but the lawsuit blames the Oakland Diocese — which encompasses Alameda and Contra Costa counties — for failing to protect the brothers from him. This is among about 160 priest sex-abuse suits coordinated through the Alameda County courts. Negotiations continue on a possible global settlement of most of these cases.
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