Wrongful Death Claim to Be Filed Against Philadelphia Archdiocese Wednesday
(Philadelphia) Attorneys for the family of “Ben”, the 36 year-old former St. Mark Parish altar boy whose tragic story of sexual abuse, rejection and suicide was told in the recent Philadelphia Grand Jury Report on clergy abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will file a wrongful death lawsuit against the diocese in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, April 6, 2011.
The following Statement from the family was issued today:
“We carefully and cautiously take this action today hoping that from this loss and from our grief, some good can come, and that the
children of this community can be better protected and be believed when they find the will and the way to report abuse of all kinds. It is
simply our desire to perhaps get the Archdiocese officials to recognize their obligations and to do a better job of healing the wounded and protecting the children — instead of being concerned about their reputation. Our family member said more than once, ‘I am not
looking for anything other than for the Church to believe me.’ We are filing this lawsuit for him. We ask that the press and public respect and protect our privacy.”
Copies of the civil complaint for this lawsuit will be available at approximately 11 A.M. (CDT) on Wednesday under “Case Resources” at www.AndersonAdvocates.com .
A copy of the 2011 Philadelphia Grand Jury Report which contains background on the case of “Ben” is also available at www.AndersonAdvocates.com