0001

 01                        NO. 93-05258-G

 01  

 02  JOHN DOE I,  et al.            )   IN  THE  DISTRICT COURT

 02                                 )

 03  VERSUS                         )   OF DALLAS COUNTY

 03                                 )

 04  REVEREND RUDOLPH KOS, et al.   )   134TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

 04

 05

 05                       REPORTER'S RECORD

 06                        VOLUME____OF___

 06                 

 07  APPEARANCES:

 07  

 08       MR. WINDLE TURLEY

 08       Attorneys at Law

 09       1000 University Tower          

 09       6440 N. Central Expressway

 10       Dallas, Texas  75205

 10                

 11       MS. SYLVIA M. DEMAREST                  

 11       Attorney at Law                 

 12       DEMAREST, SMITH, PRESLAR, JONES & GIUNTA              

 12      Cedar Maple Plaza

 13       2305 Cedar Springs Road, Suite 350                  

 13       Dallas, Texas 75201

 14                

 14                                         FOR THE PLAINTIFFS

 15       MR. RANDAL MATHIS

 15       MR. DENNIS ROOSSIEN

 16       Attorneys at Law

 16       MUNSCH, HARDT, KOPF, HARR & DINAN, P. C.

 17       4000 Fountain Place              

 17       1455 Ross Avenue

 18       Dallas, Texas  75202-2711

 18                                         FOR THE ROMAN       

 19                                        CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF  

 19                                       DALLAS

 20                 

 21             On the 6th day of June, 1997 the above-entitled

 22  and numbered cause came on for a hearing before the

 23  Honorable Anne Ashby, Judge presiding of the 134th Judicial

 24  District Court of Dallas County, Texas, and a jury, at

 25  which time the following proceedings were had:

0002

 01

 01                      W-I-T-N-E-S-S-E-S:

 02

 02                                PAGE

 03

 03  MOST REVEREND ROBERT REHKEMPER

 04

 04  Cross Examination (resumed)

 05          By Mr. Turley..........4517

 05

 06  Cross Examination

 06          By Mr. Mathis..........4574

 07

 07

 08

 08

 09

 09

 10

 10

 11

 11

 12

 12

 13

 13

 14

 14

 15

 15

 16

 16

 17

 17

 18

 18

 19

 19

 20

 20

 21

 21

 22

 22

 23

 23

 24

 24

 25

 25

0003

 01

 01                       E-X-H-I-B-I-T-S:

 02

 02                           Marked  Offered  Admitted

 03

 03  Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 176

 04          9-66 Redacted Lynch

 04          letter, Bill only..........4505

 05

 05  Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 177

 06          redacted copy of

 06          Exhibit No. 176

 07          Bill only..................4505

 07

 08  Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 178

 08          1989 Statement on

 09          child abuse................4523     4524

 09

 10  Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 179

 10          February '92 policy of

 11          priests and sex abuse......4524     4524

 11

 12

 12

 13

 13

 14

 14

 15

 15

 16

 16

 17

 17

 18

 18

 19

 19

 20

 20

 21

 21

 22

 22

 23

 23

 24

 24

 25

 25

4505

 01                          June 6, 1997

 02                           (Out of the presence and         

 03                           hearing of the jury)

 04                      THE COURT:  Mr. Turley.

 05                      MR. TURLEY:  Your Honor, at the end of

 06  trial yesterday I had asked the witness about the pattern

 07  of secrecy with respect to sexual abuse, reports of sexual

 08  abuse of students and minors, and he had denied that.  I

 09  want to reurge 176, and in the alternative, Your Honor,

 10  177.   176 is the document from the Diocese's file which

 11  reflects that 1966 they concealed the matter of sexual

 12  abuse by Father Lynch.  If that troubles Mr. Mathis and the

 13  Court, that Father Lynch's name be mentioned at this time,

 14  177 is a redacted copy where Father Lynch's name is taken

 15  out.  I think I am -- certainly should be entitled to cross

 16  examine this witness and impeach this witness' tesitmony

 17  for the last statement he made before we left yesterday.

 18                 MR. MATHIS:  We argued Exhibit 176 at some

 19  length, yesterday.  The objections that I made yesterday

 20  are as valid today as they were yesterday when you ruled on

 21  them.  And taking the name out is not the problem.   The

 22  name of the individual in there is not what the principal

 23  concern about that document is, it's the document.  So the

 24  alternative submission doesn't cure the problem at all.  

 25                 We objected to this yesterday on the basis

4506

 01  of relevancy, materiality, First Amendment, everything

 02  that's included within our Objection A, and that hasn't

 03  changed overnight.

 04                 MR. TURLEY:  Maybe I'm missing something

 05  here, Your Honor, but I don't see anyplace where this

 06  document is not relevant.  It's directly relevant to the

 07  issue in this case, and now it's relevant for impeachment

 08  of this particular witness.

 09                 MR. MATHIS:  There is no inconsistency with

 10  anything that he has said.  Our --

 11                 THE COURT:  Well, refresh my memory, if you

 12  don't mind, on the impeachment issues?

 13                 MR. TURLEY:  I had asked the witness

 14  yesterday a couple of times at the end of his testismony if

 15  the church didn't engage in a practice of secrecy of

 16  concealing and keeping confidential, acts of sexual abuse,

 17  or discovery of sexual abuse with minors.  He denied that.

 18  He said no.   This document contradicts that position

 19  directly and straightforward.  It couldn't be plainer.

 20                 THE COURT:  Response.

 21                 MR. MATHIS:  That doesn't contradict this at

 22  all.   For one thing, nobody knows particularly what that

 23  documents means in any detailed sort of way, or who was

 24  involved, or what the circumstances were.   But that

 25  doesn't have anything to do with the continuing effort to

4507

 01  try to inject collateral matters into this case.  

 02                 This is what we talked about yesterday with

 03  the Rules 403, 404, the First Amendment questions, the

 04  relevancy, materiality, everything that's included within

 05  my Objection A that we -- that we have had to make over and

 06  over throughout the course of the trial thus far. 

 07                 That document should not be admitted into

 08  evidence.  And nothing has changed since yesterday when all

 09  of this was discussed and considered at length.  I think

 10  part of this discussion was in Chambers yesterday.  And

 11  nothing has changed since then.  The ruling was appropriate

 12  yesterday.

 13                 MR. TURLEY:  Your Honor, what has not

 14  changed is that the Court ruled before this case started,

 15  that we could talk about sexual abuse by priests within the

 16  Dallas Diocese.  

 17                 MS. DEMAREST:  That they had notice of.

 18                 MR. MATHIS:  No, the Court denied my Motion

 19  in Limine on the subject, the Court did not rule what could

 20  be talked about, other than denying the Motion in Limine on

 21  that subject.  And so the Court did not rule.  The Court

 22  did rule yesterday --

 23                 THE COURT:  Refresh my memory as to what

 24  the --

 25                 MR. MATHIS:  Sure, I can do that.

4508

 01                 THE COURT:  Can you do that?

 02                 MS. DEMAREST:  About what?

 03                 THE COURT:  As to what your motion in limine

 04  said.

 05                 MR. MATHIS:  Right.

 06                 MR. TURLEY:  The Court ruled, Your Honor --

 07  the Court ruled that we were entitled --

 08                 MR. MATHIS:  Well, let me finish.  She asked

 09  for the --

 10                 MR. TURLEY:  -- that you were going to cut

 11  us off with the Dallas Diocese.

 12                 THE COURT:  Right.

 13                 MR. TURLEY:  The Court said we can discuss

 14  sexual abuse by priests of the Dallas Diocese, and that's

 15  what we have been doing, and that's what this is.

 16                 MS. DEMAREST:  And the -- and the other

 17  items that have come in through witnesses have been

 18  relevant to thir particular qualifications, or to other

 19  factual issues in this case. 

 20                 The other thing that the Court should

 21  consider with regard to Father Lynch is that -- that there

 22  is no question that this gentlemen went on to abuse other

 23  individuals in the Diocese.  And, in fact, at the beginning

 24  of these cases at least two other claimants came forward.  

 25  And we have evidence of that, and the Vicar General, Duffy

4509

 01  Gardner, has evidence of that. 

 02                 Also, this priest was removed from his

 03  position as pastor, following the complaints of abuse.  It

 04  was not cited as the basis for his removal, health was

 05  cited for the basis of his removal, but it was after the

 06  Diocese had received and paid an additional complaint.

 07                 MR. MATHIS:  May I respond now?

 08                 THE COURT:  Sure.

 09                 MR. MATHIS:  Your Honor, when the motion --

 10  when the motions in limine were heard a number of weeks

 11  ago, you will remember the chart that I had on the

 12  blackboard at that time was a circular chart.

 13                 THE COURT:  Sure.

 14                 MR. MATHIS:  And we were talking about

 15  whether or not -- beyond Rudy Kos, the Peebles and Hughes

 16  lawsuits and circumstances would be admissible in this

 17  case, and then the next ring out were any other priests

 18  within the Dallas Diocese, and then out from that, anything

 19  in the United States. 

 20                 The ruling in the motion in limine at that

 21  time left out things outside of the Dallas Diocese, but

 22  left in things inside of the Dallas Diocese.  That's on the

 23  motion in limine, that's not ruling on the evidentiary

 24  points. 

 25                 Now the Court has over the last four weeks

4510

 01  allowed in everything with regard to the Peebles and Hughes

 02  lawsuits, and has also let in the Brown matter under the

 03  guise of --

 04                 THE COURT:  Not everything in the Peebles

 05  and Hughes lawsuits.

 06                 MR. MATHIS:  Well, Your Honor, ultimately I

 07  am going to have to respond to what has been said --

 08                 THE COURT:  Whatever.

 09                 MR. MATHIS:  -- so everything has been

 10  admitted.  We are trying three cases in one, in effect.

 11                 THE COURT:  That in essence is not entirely

 12  correct.

 13                 MR. MATHIS:  That is certainly my feeling of

 14  what has happened.  Certainly, aspects of those cases won't

 15  be tried here, damages and that sort of thing won't, but

 16  the circumstances, we will have to respond to, and so we

 17  are.                

 18                 The -- outside of the Dallas Diocese, that

 19  was to be kept out and has now come in under the guise of

 20  it relates to witnesses' qualifications.  The jury is not

 21  entitled to hear about all of these other circumstances

 22  outside of the Dallas Diocese, but if Father Doyle or Dr.

 23  Fierman is allowed to testify about their historical

 24  experience in treating priests or dealing with priests from

 25  other parts of the country, that effectively does the same

4511

 01  thing.   The jury knows all about it.  I mean, we are

 02  trying the Catholic Church in America on this subject in

 03  this courtroom right now.

 04                 THE COURT:  No, we're not.

 05                 MS. DEMAREST:  No, we're not.

 06                 MR. MATHIS:  May I finish?  I think we are. 

 07  I think we are, and I have said that for quite a while now,

 08  and I --

 09                 MR. TURLEY:  We got it.

 10                 MS. DEMAREST:  We got it.

 11                 MR. TURLEY:  We got it, Mr. Mathis.  You've

 12  said it eighteen times.  We understand it.

 13                 MR. MATHIS:  Good.  With respect to -- to

 14  Father Lynch in this memo, this is just one more problem to

 15  be added, on top of what already has been admitted into

 16  evidence.  We are talking about something many, many years

 17  ago that no one has any way now to investigate or respond

 18  to.  

 19                 Now, you know, everybody knows, because

 20  Sylvia certainly I think spoke with at least one, that

 21  there were claimants that came forward recently after these

 22  lawsuits were pending, and there was publicity with regard

 23  to Father Lynch.  There is no way to investigate claims of

 24  this nature thirty years after the fact, so --

 25                 MR. TURLEY:  Your Honor --

4512

 01                 THE COURT:  Wait a minute --

 02                 MR. MATHIS:  Wait till I make my point.     

 03                 MR. TURLEY:  Your Honor, let me cut him off.

 04  He --

 05                 MR. MATHIS:  Let me make my point. 

 06                 MR. TURLEY:  Well, he just goes on and on,

 07  Your Honor.

 08                 MS. DEMAREST:  Please get to the point.

 09                 THE COURT:  Sylvia -- y'all stop.

 10                 MR. TURLEY:  We are not going to get this

 11  case tried --

 12                 THE COURT:  Stop, stop.

 13                 MR. TURLEY:  He just goes on and on, Your

 14  Honor.

 15                 THE COURT:  Stop.

 16                 MR. TURLEY:  We ought to have some way --

 17                 THE COURT:  Stop.  You may finish.

 18                 MR. MATHIS:  If you allow evidence in the

 19  form of that memo, or a question about that memo, I have no

 20  way to respond to it, it's too many years after the fact.  

 21                It is not fair to admit evidence where we

 22  don't have a fair opportunity to respond.  It unduly

 23  prejudices our position in the case and gives the jury the

 24  confusing and misleading impression.  That's what Rule 403

 25  is all about, and that's what we talked about yesterday. We

4513

 01  settled this and talked about it yesterday.

 02                 MS. DEMAREST:  Well, I want to just say the

 03  basis for all of this -- the Court has to remember, we've

 04  gone through this in detail.  This evidence is relevant on

 05  pattern and practice of an organization, habit and

 06  customary practice.  Those are all provided for by the

 07  rules. 

 08                 It's relevant on the issue of notice.  It's

 09  relevant to the Plaintiffs' claims of fraud -- of 

 10  fraudulent concealment, conspiracy.  Those are the bases

 11  for all of this evidence coming in. 

 12                 We didn't create the situation within this

 13  Diocese that led to the present litigation, they did. 

 14  Now, because of their habit and practice this -- this

 15  information is relevant. 

 16                 This particular document establishes that

 17  the pattern and practice of concealment predated the

 18  incidents that are involved in this case.   And I believe

 19  it's relevant on that basis.  And see how quick you can be?

 20                 MR. TURLEY:  And, Your Honor --

 21                 MR. MATHIS:  I object to the sidebar

 22  remarks.  I am entitled to make my responses to objections,

 23  and I should not have to have scarcastic remarks directed

 24  to me.  I am not doing that to Sylvia, and it should not be

 25  done back.

4514

 01                 THE COURT:  All right.   Sustained as to

 02  sidebar.  Y'all don't do that.

 03                 MR. TURLEY:  Your Honor --

 04                 THE COURT:  Mr. Turley.

 05                 MR. TURLEY:  -- that letter is just simple 

 06  and plain.  All it says there is "We elect to keep

 07  confidential this incident of sexual abuse."   We are not

 08  going into that sexual abuse.  We are not showing when it

 09  happened, who it was, anything about it; just that is their

 10  pattern and practice to keep these things confidential,

 11  which is contrary to what the witness testified to

 12  yesterday.  That has to come in.  

 13                 And Mr. Mathis saying he is surprised with

 14  this, he has known about this since the get-go.  This

 15  letter has been in their file.  That's where we got it.  He

 16  has known this has been in this case.  This isn't any

 17  surprise to him.

 18                 MR. MATHIS:  Pattern and practice doesn't

 19  open the door to everything.  I mean, any time --

 20                 MR. TURLEY:  It just about does, in fraud

 21  and --

 22                 MR. MATHIS:  Any time --

 23                 THE COURT:  Don't interrupt.

 24                 MR. TURLEY:  It just about does, Your Honor,

 25  in fraud and --

4515

 01                 THE COURT:  Wait.  Mr. Turley --

 02                 MR. TURLEY:  -- and conspiracy --

 03                 THE COURT:  Mr. Turley, please don't

 04  interrupt.

 05                 MR. MATHIS:  Pattern and practice, notice

 06  and fraud have become the buzz words here.  That does not

 07  justify the admission of evidence that is violative of 404.

 08  It's improper collateral matters. 

 09                 It -- it is -- this is exactly what Rule 403

 10  was designed to talk about; not to mention the other things

 11  that are within our Objection A that relate to the First

 12  Amendment.  

 13                 How, the Diocese is administered -- is

 14  governed by Canon Law.  That is not an appropriate area of

 15  inquiry by a civil state court.

 16                 THE COURT:  Okay.  May I see the attorneys

 17  in my office for just a second, please?

 18                 (After an in-chambers conference

 19                 the proceedings resumed within

 20                 the presence and hearing of the

 21                 jury as follows:)

 22                 THE COURT:  Ladies and gentlemen of the

 23  jury, I'm sorry to keep you waiting, we've just had some

 24  real intricate matters that needed to taken up outside your

 25  presence, and, yes, we should have worked on it yesterday

4516

 01  afternoon.  But I'll be honest with you, we were all

 02  exhausted and we couldn't do, it.  So we are going as fast

 03  as we can. 

 04                 And I also want you -- to say, we have not

 05  given up our hope of getting through by the end of June.  

 06  I mean, everybody who has given me letters, and stuff like

 07  that, we'll talk about them.  You who have -- Juror Number

 08  11, tell me your name.  No -- is it you who's got a job

 09  problem?  Okay.  Let's talk about it.   When are you going

 10  to talk with your boss?

 11                 JUROR:  At the end of the month.

 12                 THE COURT:  I'm sorry, at the end of the

 13  month? 

 14                 JUROR:  Yes.

 15                 THE COURT:  Okay.  As soon as you talk to

 16  them, would you let me know?

 17                 JUROR:  Yes.

 18                 THE COURT:  Okay.  And then we'll know what

 19  the situation is. 

 20                 JUROR:  Okay.

 21                 THE COURT:  And the other people, we're not

 22  -- I mean, I'm not saying that -- that we're not going to

 23  get through, we're doing everything we can to get through.

 24  The July -- June the 30th, that's a Friday, we'll -- I

 25  mean, a Monday, will be a working day, for those who are,

4517

 01  you know, who are here, if we're not through earlier. Yeah. 

 02  That's the last day of June.

 03                 I want to read this letter before we get

 04  started, because it's a real positive way to start the day.

 05                 "Judge Ashby, thank you, thank you, thank

 06  you.  We really appreciate the new microwave and

 07  refrigerator you obtained for us, especially so soon after

 08  our request.  You have been very kind to us.  Thanks again.

 09  It's a unanimous decision."

 10                 (Laughter in the courtroom)

 11                 THE COURT:  Okay.  You may proceed, Counsel.

 12                 MR. TURLEY:  Thank you.

 13           MOST REVEREND MONSIGNOR ROBERT REHKEMPER,

 14  having been duly cautioned and sworn to tell the truth, the

 15  whole truth and nothing but the truth was examined and

 16  testified as follows:

 17  CROSS EXAMINATION - RESUMED

 18  BY MR. TURLEY:

 19          Q.     Good morning, Monsignor.

 20          A.     Good morning.

 21          Q.     Monsignor, I want to catch up here just a

 22  little bit, if we could.  We have a little kind of a chart

 23  that we have been trying to keep -- help our memories with

 24  things that have been said. 

 25                 Yesterday we talked about Father Williams

4518

 01  coming to you, and you and he, and I guess Father Kos, had

 02  this conversation in December or January?

 03          A.     December.

 04          Q.     And Williams says that "Kos can't stay away

 05  from boys.  Almost there -- there almost every night."  And

 06  he thought it was a serious matter.  Do you remember that?

 07          A.     Surely.

 08          Q.     I want to put this up here.  Now, I have

 09  this -- this marked as January, 1992.  That's when Father

 10  Williams remembered it was, but whether it's December or

 11  January, we realize there might be some difference there. 

 12                 All right.  And -- and then it was, I think,

 13  in the -- the preceding month -- and we could have these

 14  months switched around, that as we talked yesterday.       

 15                Father Kos comes to you along with Williams

 16  and says that he needs to see a psychiatrist.  Do you

 17  remember that?

 18          A.     Yes.

 19          Q.     All right.  And I've marked this one as

 20  December, '91.

 21          A.    That's true.  I thought that's the one you

 22  were talking about.

 23          Q.     Okay, I'm sorry.  Well, we -- something like

 24  that.

 25          A.     Uh-huh.

4519

 01          Q.     All right.  Thank you.  Now, Monsignor,

 02  before I go on with some questions where we left off

 03  yesterday, you must have known for some period of time --

 04  as close as you were to Bishop Tschoepe, you must have

 05  known about his plans to retire, probably before they were

 06  announced publicly, I would think.

 07          A.     Yes, uh-huh.

 08          Q.     And you have been running the Diocese,

 09  yourself for the last several years?

 10          A.     No.

 11          Q.     Not exclusively, but you had been helping

 12  the Bishop?

 13          A.     I had been helping the Bishop; he was

 14  running the Diocese.

 15          Q.     For -- for something -- almost twenty years,

 16  I guess.

 17          A.     I think it was eighteen.

 18          Q.     That you've been assisting him --

 19          A.     Uh-huh.

 20          Q.     And doing, I suspect, a very large portion

 21  of the work, administrative work in getting it done?

 22          A.     Right.

 23          Q.     And you expected to be -- at least

 24  considered yourself to be appointed Bishop?

 25          A.     Very unlikely.

4520

 01          Q.     You must have considered it, though?

 02          A.     No, I really didn't.  I didn't think that

 03  they would ever draw a man from the Diocese to be the

 04  Bishop of the Diocese, because it doesn't work too well

 05  that way.

 06          Q.     It is done sometimes, though?

 07          A.     Very seldom.

 08          Q.     And in any event, for certain, you wanted to

 09  keep the record as clean as you could, because you knew

 10  there was going to be a change in the Bishop's position

 11  here in Dallas?

 12          A.     I never looked at it that way.

 13          Q.     Monsignor, when we discussed yesterday about

 14  you needing to wait until you could get a replacement for

 15  Father Kos over in Ennis at St. John's, this was not the

 16  only time that you had to wait to remove a suspended child

 17  abuser until you could get a replacement, was it?

 18          A.     No, I don't think so.  I'm not positive.  I

 19  don't know what you have reference to.

 20          Q.     So this was not the only time that that had

 21  happened?

 22          A.     As far as I know.  The only one I can think

 23  of would be the -- the St. Augustine Pastor.

 24          Q.     All right.  You can't think of any others?

 25          A.     Not offhand.

4521

 01          Q.     Never -- it would be your testimony you

 02  never told a parish or parishioners that you couldn't

 03  replace this troubled priest until you could get somebody

 04  else?

 05          A.     I don't recall that --

 06          Q.     Okay.

 07          A.     -- I ever told anybody that, because I don't

 08  think that was the point.

 09          Q.     Father?

 10          A.     Sometimes it takes awhile to get a priest

 11  from one parish to another, if that's what you are driving

 12  at.

 13          Q.     Let me ask you to look at Exhibit No. 1 --

 14                 MR. TURLEY:  Next number.

 15                 MS. DEMAREST:  Oh, is that '89 -- 

 16                 MR. TURLEY:  Yes, ma'am.

 17                 MS. DEMAREST:  178.

 18          Q.     (BY MR. TURLEY)  178.  I want to show you

 19  Exhibit 178, if we could please.  This is -- you see it

 20  there on your screen.  This is the statement on child abuse

 21  released by the Administrative Committee of the National

 22  Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 1989; is that

 23  correct?

 24          A.     That's what it says.          

 25          Q.     Now, let me ask you if you agree with the

4522

 01  statement that they -- and this went out to all of the

 02  Bishops in all of the dioceses in the nation, didn't it?

 03          A.     I don't know.

 04          Q.     Let me ask you if you agree with their

 05  statement down here near the end of that second paragraph

 06  that I have where they say, "Even a single case is one too

 07  many, which is why the Church views even a rumor of such an

 08  occurrence with intense concern. 

 09                 "Church leaders are advised to investigate

 10  immediately, to remove a priest rapidly where the evidence

 11  warrants it, to seek appropriate treatment for the

 12  offender, and to extend pastorial help to the victim of

 13  such a tragedy, and to the victim's family."                

 14                In 1989 did you agree with that statement of

 15  the National Conference of Catholic Bishops?

 16          A.     Yes; particularly where it says, "where the

 17  evidence warrants it".

 18          Q.     And do you also agree with the second page

 19  of this statement where they say, "The hint of such a case

 20  is viewed by a bishop with alarm."

 21          A.     Yes, I would imagine that is true.

 22          Q.     So we would be safe to say that there were a

 23  lot of alarms going off over the years when Rudy Kos was

 24  Pastor here in this Dallas Diocese?

 25          A.     There were a few that I knew of.

4523

 01                 MR. TURLEY:  Your Honor, we offer Exhibit

 02  178. 

 03                 THE COURT:  Any objections?

 04                 MR. MATHIS:  No, Your Honor.

 05                 THE COURT:  178 is admitted.

 06          Q.     (BY MR. TURLEY)  And then later on in

 07  February of 1992, when this matter is really raging around

 08  you with respect to Father Kos, the National Conference

 09  speaks again, and they issue Exhibit Number 179.  Do you

 10  see that?

 11          A.     I do.

 12          Q.     And -- let's see what we've got here.

 13  "Office of Media Relations United States Catholic

 14  Conference policy on -- policy on priests and sexual abuse

 15  of children".  Let's see what they said then in 19 --

 16  February of 1992.  See if I read this correctly. 

 17                 "When there is even a hint of such an

 18  incident, investigate immediately.  Remove the priest

 19  whenever the evidence warrants it.  Follow the reporting

 20  obligations of the civil law.  Extend pastorial care to the

 21  victim and the victim's family.  Seek appropriate treatment

 22  for the offender."

 23                 Then they go on down and they say -- right

 24  here (indicating) they mention that they have issued this

 25  -- a similar policy in '88, and again in '89, and we just

4524

 01  read the one in '89, didn't we?  

 02                 And they say, "As well as those two prior

 03  policies, as well as in the four sessions in recent years

 04  where the bishops have discussed the matter in general

 05  meetings."  In other words, this -- they are saying, and

 06  now, read -- read back up here with me -- I want to

 07  underline this. 

 08                 "This firm approach is evidenced by

 09  statements issued by the Conference's Office of General

 10  Counsel in '88, '89 -- and by the Administrative Board in

 11  '89, as well as four sessions in recent years when the

 12  bishops have discussed the matter in general meetings."

 13                 You were present at some of those meetings,

 14  were you not?

 15          A.     No.

 16          Q.     Bishop Tschoepe --

 17          A.     Bishop Tschoepe probably was, but I wasn't.

 18                 MR. TURLEY:  All right.  Plaintiff offers

 19  Exhibit 179.

 20                 MR. MATHIS:  No objection.

 21                 THE COURT:  Admitted. 

 22          Q.     (BY MR. TURLEY)  You agree with those

 23  policies, don't you, Monsignor?

 24          A.     Sure.  I think they are good policies.  Not

 25  that I knew them at the time.  I don't remember seeing

4525

 01  them.

 02          Q.     Monsignor, do I understand that this Diocese

 03  had had for several years what you refer to, I think, as a

 04  Blue Ribbon Committee?  Do you know about the Blue Ribbon

 05  Committee?

 06          A.     I knew there was a committee, but I didn't

 07  know it was called a Blue Ribbon Committee.

 08          Q.     There has been testimony in this case --let

 09  me ask you to --

 10          A.     Uh-huh.

 11          Q.     -- to assume that there was a Blue Ribbon

 12  Committee, and priests have testified that they have served

 13  on it, and it was set up to deal with sex abuse and what

 14  actions should be taken with pastors -- with priests and

 15  victims of sexual abuse here in this Dallas Diocese.  Do

 16  you understand that's what it is supposed to do?

 17          A.     Yes, uh-huh.  

 18          Q.     But what I --

 19          A.     I don't know if that was exclusively what it

 20  was supposed to do, but that was one of the things that it

 21  was appointed for, uh-huh.

 22          Q.     When we took your deposition about two

 23  and-a-half years ago, I understood you to say at that time

 24  you didn't even know of the existence of that committee.

 25          A.     I didn't.  I didn't know the --

4526

 01          Q.     And you never shared any information with

 02  that committee about Kos, because you didn't even know

 03  about it.

 04          A.     That's right.  I did not know what the

 05  committee consisted of, or who the members were.           

 06         Q.     And you are the number two man in charge in

 07  this Diocese? 

 08          A.     Yes.

 09          Q.     For twenty years.

 10          A.     That's right, but some thin