Catholic officials settled case but insisted on secrecy

October 18, 9:10 PMDayton Crime ExaminerDavid Willoughby

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Wheeling, WV. - In the 1990s, Fr. Thomas F. Gleeson and two other priests were sued for allegedly sexually harassing a seminarian at Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley CA. In 2000, that civil lawsuit was settled out of court with no admission of wrongdoing. Now, SNAP(Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has learned Gleeson sits on the board of another Jesuit institution, Wheeling Jesuit University.

SNAP learned of Gleeson's role at Wheeling Jesuit in news accounts last month about the university president's recent firing.

The suit, brought by John Bollard, charged that Gleeson had asked to masturbate with the young student (among other allegations). Bollard's lawyer was James Wagstaffe.

Bollard, now 44, works at a college in Southern California.

Jesuit officials claim that the allegations were "unsubstantiated." However, America's Catholic bishops adopted a first-ever national policy on clergy sexual misconduct in 2002. That policy pledged "openness" in such cases, and promised that credibly accused priests would be promptly suspended while accusations were investigated. SNAP believes that, in light of this policy, Jesuits and/or the Wheeling Diocese need to be cautious, suspend Gleeson, and launch a probe into Bollard's charges.

Gleeson's fellow board members include William G. Fisher , Fr. Brian O’Donnell, Fr. Gerard Stockhausen, Charleston attorney Rudolph DiTrapano and Fr. Edward Glynn, Dr. Donald Hofreuter, and Lynda C. Wolford, C.P.A., (recently resigned).  Other board members can be found at http://www.wju.edu/academics/catalogs/under07_09/Financial%20Information/Directories.pdf

A former Wheeling University president, Fr. Charles L. Currie, has defended the school's decision to keep Gleeson on its board.

According to Jesuit websites, Gleeson has also been affiliated with two Jesuit facilities in Pennsylvania: a retreat center at Wernersville (http://www.jesuitcenter.org/members.htm) and a college in Redding (http://69.7.224.37/donorsreport/board-of-trustees.html).

SNAP has also started a website with information about accused West Virginia clerics: http://wheeling-charlestontruth.org/

Last night, the group held its first support meeting in Charleston WV.