© 2024 Maine Public

Bangor Studio/Membership Department
63 Texas Ave.
Bangor, ME 04401

Lewiston Studio
1450 Lisbon St.
Lewiston, ME 04240

Portland Studio
323 Marginal Way
Portland, ME 04101

Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.
Attention Radio listeners! WMED-FM & HD2 89.7 Calais are off the air as engineers work on upgrading necessary equipment.

Lawyer: Letter Opens Door to More Lawsuits Against Diocese

By David Sharp, The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine - A lawyer says a newly revealed letter indicating Roman Catholic Church officials knew a Maine priest was allegedly abusing children in 1956 opens the door to lawsuits by additional victims.

Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian said the 2005 letter referring to abuse allegations against the Rev. James Vallely shows then-Bishop Daniel Feeney knew about Vallely's abuse earlier than previously stated. He says that disclosure opens the door to lawsuits against the Portland diocese by victims who previously were shut out by Maine's statute of limitations.

Garabedian, who already settled one fraudulent concealment case, said he's representing five of Vallely's victims from the 1960s and 1970s. Vallely died in 1997.

Bishop Robert P. Deeley on Tuesday acknowledged past mistakes and said church leaders must "do everything possible to see that history does not repeat itself.''