04/08/2004: "Lutherans paying up"

The Associated Press has reported that the sex abuse suit against the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been settled:

Marshall, Texas�Plaintiffs suing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and related agencies for allegedly failing to do more to stop a sexually abusive pastor said Wednesday they had reached settlements with nearly all defendants.

The announcement came two days after a jury was selected in a civil case involving former Lutheran minister Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr. that was brought by 14 alleged victims and their families.

A joint statement by plaintiffs and defendants said the settlement involved the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the seminary that Thomas attended, a candidacy committee in Michigan, and the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Marshall, where Thomas was pastor from 1997 to 2001.

The Thomas case is one of the most serious abuse lawsuits to hit a U.S. Protestant denomination. The Chicago-based denomination has 5 million members.

A source close to the case said last week that the sides were nearing agreement on a $40 million settlement, averaging about $2.85 million per plaintiff. However, the amount could have changed and could not be verified Wednesday.

This isn't really in the same league as the Catholic priest sex abuse cases, though $40 million for one case is a serious piece of change. While the case has been mentioned on the Web site of The Lutheran, there's no mention yet of an amount. Maybe that will turn up when the settlement is official.

Replies: 2 Comments

on Friday, April 9th, Phillipa said

Maybe, but I doubt it. We probably won't hear much about the actual amount of the official settlement. Often a defendant will settle with a plaintiff and one of the conditions of the settlement is that neither party discuss the pertinent facts.

on Monday, April 12th, New Case In Texas ELCA??? said

A lawyer representing an ELCA pastor in another part of Texas has threatened a libel suit against a former church member who criticized the pastor in a reply to a church email.

The lawyer's letter insists that the individual must attend an ELCA "prescribed process" (ecclesiastic trial?) and turn over the names, addresses and phone numbers of her supporters to him. This is in order to forestall the libel suit.

There are other facts too lengthy to go into, here. The same lawyer had made a phone call that was threatening. A member of the church council told the woman that the pastor had announced the contents of the email and preached on it, and now everyone is angry. This council member said the church had not decided about lawyers yet, and was surprised that this lawyer has already written the woman a letter.

The woman is not even a Lutheran, and has not attended that church for almost a year.

She received the letter on Good Friday, 2004.

Does the ELCA use "Who Let The Dogs out" as a hymn?