thursday, april 22, 2004 news the university daily kansar 7A Archdiocese to pay $1.7 million Family to receive money for sexual harm done to son The Associated Press ST. LOUISE — The Archdiocese of St. Louis will pay nearly $1.7 million to a family whose son was sexually abused for three years by a Roman Catholic priest now serving 15 years in prison, the family's attorney said yesterday. Robert Ritter said that he and attorneys for the church settled Tuesday in the case of the Rev. Gary Wolken, the former associate pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. In pleading guilty in December 2002 to two counts of statutory sodomy and six counts of child molestation, Wolken admitted exposing himself to the son of a family friend, inappropriately touching him and having oral sex with him from 1997 to 2000. The abuse began when the child was in kindergarten and often took place while Wolken baby-sat. The archdiocese said the settlement was its largest in a sexualabuse case in its 157-year history. "While the settlement represents closure of the civil case, our pastoral concern and our prayers continue for all who have been affected by this tragic abuse," church officials said in a statement. Wolken was arrested in 2002. Wolken was arrested in 2006. In February of last year, Circuit Judge John Kintz sentenced Wolken to 15 years in prison, after a family counselor read statements to the court from the father, mother, sister and the victim. Among other things, the boy, then 10, said he was being teased at school and was getting counseling. seing. Noting that Wolken himself had been abused as a child, Kintz told the clergyman at sentencing, "Some day, some time, this chain of sex abuse by priests must stop." must stop. Ritter said the family had notified the archdiocese that a lawsuit was probable. "I would say the victim's parents feel that this significant settlement is recognition by the archdiocese of its responsibility." Ritter said. "And while the family has maintained their faith, there's continued pain and despair over this tragedy." As part of the settlement, Ritter said, the archdiocese denied any liability. The archdiocese has said that Wolken was removed from his parish in March 2002 and suspended from the priesthood. pended from the press. The archdiocese said it triggered a police investigation after learning of the allegations, and that Wolken's sentencing "brings to an end the civil proceedings in the case of the grave sexual abuse of a child." Tornadoes pummel Midwest The Associated Press UTICA, Ill. — Recovery workers removed four bodies from the rubble-filled basement of a tornado-flattened tavern yesterday and used heavy equipment and shovels to dig for more possible victims. Four people were hospitalized. tuned. More tornadoes damaged towns in central Indiana, injuring at least five people, as lines of thunderstorms rolled through the Midwest on Tuesday evening. ning. Five people were pulled alive from the rubble of Utica's Milestone Tap, before the four bodies were recovered, and authorities believed others could still be inside. They said workers were hampered by the century-old building's crumbling, unstable sandstone walls. Authorities said yesterday that they had not had communication from anyone in the tavern for hours. "We're hoping as we get down through the debris, we're holding hope to find some survivors of this,"LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said at a news conference. "In a few hours, we'll know more." Recovery workers were moving carefully in case there were survivors, Mayor Fred Esmond said. "You can't just go in there and tear it apart," the mayor said. "You have to do it by hand." Bill Burke, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and Tom Schafer of the Department of Public Health had said as early as Tuesday night that there were four deaths in the community of about 1,000 residents some 90 miles southwest of Chicago. However, they gave no details and the bodies weren't removed until yesterday. removed the twister plowed into the town Tuesday evening, and John Devore said he had just seconds to rush his family into their basement and then look outside. "It was like my brain wasn't comprehending what my eyes were seeing, I said, 'Well, it looks like the car's OK,' and then a split second later. Wait a minute, I'm not supposed to be able to see my car. Where the hell's my garage?" cal. where Preliminary reports said there were a total of 51 tornadoes Tuesday in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. tion Center in Norman Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared four counties state disaster areas. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials planned to visit today to see if they qualify for federal disaster relief. Authorities said three to six people suffered minor injuries in Jamestown, Ind. The storm reportedly blew as many as four tractor-trailers rigs off highways. In Utica, dozens of buildings in a three- to four-block area were damaged and several collapsed. The grade school was one of several buildings that lost roofs. A metal silo at the grain elevator collapsed and a piece of it was wrapped around a stop sign. wrapped around a stop sign. One house stood without its back wall, revealing the china cabinet still standing with dishes inside, and magnets remaining on the refrigerator. generator: “This would equate to what I saw in Plainfield 10 or 15 years ago,” said state trooper Tim Reppin, referring to the Aug. 28, 1990, tornado that killed 29 people and damaged more than 1,000 homes along a 16-mile path near Joliet, a small city southwest of Chicago. Press poll exposes terrorism concerns The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Half of Americans have concerns that terrorists might be winning the war on terrorism, and one in five feels strongly that way, according to an Associated Press poll that found many people pessimistic about their security. Fears about an attack against this country are high. Two-thirds in the poll said it was likely terrorists would strike before the November elections. And a third said it was likely there would be an attack at one of the political conventions this summer. More than 30 months after the Sept. 11 attacks, two-thirds of Americans acknowledge some concern that terrorists may be recruiting faster than the United States can keep up. A third of those polled feel strongly this is the case, and another third say they have at least some worries. Perhaps you're one of the rare women being called by God to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. But you're wondering, "how can I truly know if I've been called?" This free CD-ROM from the Sisters of St. Joseph may help you find out. To request yours, visit www.csjwichita.org or call our Vocation Director, Sr. Ann Letourneau, at 316-689-4030. You'll be eternally grateful you did. 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