Court-ordered mediation temporarily ended March 16 between the Diocese of Sacramento and attorneys for 33 plaintiffs with civil lawsuits against the diocese for sexual abuse by clergy.

The settlement talks will resume May 4, according to James Sweeney, attorney for the diocese.

Sweeney said a recess is typical at this stage of the mediation process so that attorneys from both sides can evaluate proposals.

“Both sides need to talk to clients and come back prepared to talk some more,” according to Kevin Eckery, spokesman for the diocese.

The mediation efforts began March 14 in Sacramento. A few days before the process began, Sweeney said the diocese “has an open mind going in to this process.”

“Certainly to the extent that we can settle cases on a fair and just basis for both parties, we are going to do that. If reasonable and just settlements can’t be reached, then we are prepared to go to trial,” he said.

Judge Richard K. Park, a retired Sacramento Superior Court judge and a mediator with the private arbitration firm JAMS, is presiding over the mediation.

He was selected by attorneys for both sides, with the approval of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw. Sabraw oversees about 160 sexual abuse claims against the dioceses in Northern California which were consolidated as Clergy III.

The lawsuits stem from a 2002 state law that lifted for one year the statute of limitations on civil claims for sexual abuse of minors. More than 750 civil cases filed under the law against Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders in the state were divided into geographic locations. Clergy I and Clergy II involve cases in Southern California.

Sweeney said most of the abuse claims against the diocese are from events that were alleged to have occurred more than 30 years ago.

Sixteen of the cases against the diocese involve a single priest, Father Mario Blanco, a former Salesian priest who served in the diocese from 1969 to 1973.

Blanco was dismissed from the diocese by then-Bishop Alden Bell in early 1973 and left the Roman Catholic Church shortly after being dismissed to join a schismatic movement. More than two decades later, the diocese settled two cases in which Blanco was accused of child abuse. Blanco is now working in Tacoma, Wash., in a “traditionalist” church and is not associated with any Roman Catholic diocese.

Sweeney said four of the cases involving Blanco are set to go to trial June 27.

He said some of the cases against the diocese may settle over the next few months, but others may proceed to trial.

“This is going to be a lengthy and methodical process, with an attempt to reach a just resolution for all parties,” Sweeney said. “If we don’t reach settlements through mediation, then we will be ready to go to trial.”

Sweeney said the money for settlements is expected to come from both insurance and diocesan assets, but that there is a “significant lapse in insurance coverage for the diocese.”

He said diocesan officials have been unable to identify all of the insurance in effect three or more decades ago and that one of the diocese’s insurance carriers has gone bankrupt.

In a letter distributed March 12-13 at Masses in parishes throughout the diocese, Bishop William K. Weigand indicated that he could not predict the cost of the settlements or what the impact might be on services and ministries of the diocese.

“I will do everything I can to balance the need to justly and responsibly resolve claims made by those who have been injured against my solemn obligation, as your bishop, to ensure that the church continues to minister effectively,” the bishop said.

“In order to keep the sacramental and evangelical mission of the church vibrant in our diocese, the impact on individual parishes must be minimized,” he added. “The fact remains that the resolution of these lawsuits may have an impact upon critical diocesan ministries, including services at parishes, schools and other locations throughout the diocese.”

Msgr. Robert Walton, vicar general of the diocese, said that contributions from donors that have bee earmarked or restricted for specific purposes will be used for the purposes intended, and will not be used for the settlement of abuse cases.

“We will honor the wishes of our donors, whether their support was for the Preserving Our Past, Building Our Future (2002) campaign, the Annual Catholic Appeal for the needy of our diocese, or other restricted purposes,” he said.

Two cases among Clergy III are currently in trial, one in Hayward and one in San Francisco.

In Hayward, jury selection started March 14 in the civil trial of two brothers suing the Diocese of Oakland for alleged sexual molestation by a former priest. The brothers claim they were molested more than 20 years ago by Robert Ponciroli, former pastor of St. Ignatius Church in Antioch. Ponciroli has since been laicized.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Harry Sheppard ruled March 14 that one of the brothers cannot seek damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

While jury selection continues in Hayward, attorneys for both sides continue to work toward a “global settlement” in the more than 40 other abuse cases against the Oakland Diocese.

Another abuse case is being tried in San Francisco. In that case, a former student and parishioner at St. Martin of Tours Church in San Jose has sued the Archdiocese of San Francisco for alleged abuse by the late Father Joseph Pritchard.

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