Ending a civil lawsuit he filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco after being sexually abused in his teens by a priest, a local gay man won a $1.7 million settlement from the Catholic Church. The agreement is part of a $4 million settlement the church agreed to pay in order to end four lawsuits filed by abuse victims of the now defrocked Monsignor Patrick O'Shea.
Kenneth McDonald, who owns the Castro liquor shop Friendly Spirits with his partner of 18 years, David Jessup, charged in his suit that O'Shea sexually abused him a dozen times at the priest's Lake Berryessa property and in his dorm room at the San Francisco Archdiocesan seminary. He said he was stunned to learn that the church had agreed to settle the case on Friday, August 26, and that the money is little consolation for the suffering he endured.
"No amount of money can bring back or change what I experienced at the hands of this monster," said McDonald, who donated a portion of his settlement to the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts. "However, I think that for the Catholic Church to change they need to be forced to change. If I've been able to do that through the settlement so be it."
David Mattingly, McDonald's attorney, said he felt the church made the right decision to settle the cases.
"I think it was the appropriate action for them to take given the facts of the case and given the suffering that was endured by Mr. McDonald," he said.
Since a state law enacted in 2003 allowed victims of abuse one year to file suits previously barred due to statute of limitations restrictions, 60 cases have been filed against the diocese. The church has settled 31 cases, with awards totaling $41 million.
O'Shea, 72, during a deposition in the case admitted to molesting a 14- or 15-year-old boy in the 1960s, and that McDonald "could have" been naked in his presence, but he denied abusing him.
A Mission Dolores priest who headed the altar boys program and was secretary to Bishop Merlin Guilfoyle in the late 1960s, O'Shea has never been prosecuted in any of the molestation cases targeting him because courts ruled the charges were filed after the statute of limitations expired. The church did defrock the priest in 1994, after the first molestation accusations became public.
O'Shea was convicted last year of embezzling about $200,000 from the church and was sentenced to time served. Two cases stemming from molestation charges against O'Shea remain unsettled.
Bishop John Wester, administrator for the archdiocese, told the San Francisco Chronicle that, "it is our hope that the settlements will help to provide lasting healing to these individuals for the suffering they have endured. On behalf of the archdiocese, I express my sincere apology for the pain felt by victims of clergy child abuse. While we cannot change the past, we can ensure diligent efforts to protect children in the future."
McDonald, 48, a native San Franciscan, claimed in his suit that O'Shea first molested him at age 11 in the summer of 1968. The abuse, described in court papers, continued through the spring of 1972. According to his lawsuit, McDonald said church officials knew of the abuse as early as 1970 and suggested he enroll at the seminary as part of "the healing process." In 1971 McDonald told his seminary adviser of the abuse and was told O'Shea "will be taken care of." After being molested a year later while in seminary, McDonald said seminary officials repeated their claims that the matter would be handled accordingly. But in 1972 the church elevated O'Shea to monsignor.
McDonald first went public with his accusations in 2001. After former classmates of his came forward in 1994 to lodge the first accusations of abuse against O'Shea, McDonald said he did not come forward because O'Shea had gone to jail and it appeared he would be held to account for his actions. But the case was dropped against O'Shea due to the statute of limitations and he was set free.
The outcome of that case prompted lawmakers, pushed by former state Senator John Burton (D-San Francisco), to change the law. McDonald had been seeing a therapist who advised him that seeking justice for what O'Shea had done to him would be therapeutic. Acting on the advice, McDonald then contacted the district attorney's office and went before a grand jury to testify about the abuse.
However, once again the courts threw out the case and McDonald decided to file the civil suit against the archdiocese. It was the first time his family learned of the abuse their son had suffered at the hands of a man they considered a friend.
"My father was absolutely heartbroken," said McDonald. "He is still very bitter. We are all working through this."
Through therapy over the last four years, McDonald said he has been excising the painful memories from his childhood and coming to terms with the abuse he suffered.
"It's a form of exorcism," he said.
He said he is hopeful his decision to go public has brought some comfort to others O'Shea abused.
"I know a lot of other people have suffered at the hands of this man. I hope through my actions they find a little comfort and relief," he said.
For himself, he is starting a new chapter of his life. He and Jessup have decided to sell their store to another gay couple and hope to close escrow by the end of the month.
"It's the beginning of the end. I am going to be here for a while, God willing, and it will always be a part of my persona, a fabric of my psyche," said McDonald. "I hope this process has enabled me to be a stronger, better person and enabled other people to be stronger and better and bring some reformation for the church."