Plaintiffs Get $8 Million In ELCA Portion Of Texas Civil Case Settlement

CHICAGO (ELCA) – Fourteen plaintiffs and their attorneys will get $8 million in a settlement of a civil suit against the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Initially, all of the ELCA portion of the settlement will be paid from insurance funds, said John R. Brooks, a spokesman for the ELCA. In reaching the settlement, Brooks said the ELCA churchwide organization admitted to no wrongdoing.
The churchwide organization settled March 27 with the 14 plaintiffs in a civil suit brought against the church in Marshall, Texas. The case involved the criminal behavior of a former ELCA pastor, Gerald P. Thomas, Jr. He was found guilty of sexual assault against children in a trial last year and was sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
"We continue to pray for all who have been affected adversely by this disturbing case, and we ask your prayers for the victims of Thomas and for the congregation that he once served in Marshall," Brooks said. "We are hopeful the money will help the young boys affected. We are grateful that the court has placed this money in a trust to help the victims." The churchwide organization is "deeply sorry" that anyone was victimized by Thomas, Brooks emphasized.
The settlement was approved April 12 in a Marshall court by District Judge Bonnie Leggat. At the request of the plaintiffs' attorney, terms of the settlement were not disclosed immediately by the court because some parties in the suit chose to defend themselves in a trial that began April 13, Brooks said. Those defendants were the ELCA Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, its former bishop, the Rev. Mark B. Herbener, and a former assistant to the bishop, Earl H. Eliason.
The trial concluded April 22. The jury returned a verdict totaling nearly $37 million, divided among nine plaintiffs. Until the court enters a judgment, the amount to be attributed to the synod can not be determined with certainty, Brooks said.
"The ELCA churchwide organization is distressed and disappointed at the outcome of the civil trial in Texas," Brooks said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod and its leaders. Decisions about possible appeals will be determined by the synod."
Other defendants in addition to the ELCA settled separately with the plaintiffs before trial started. The others who settled are Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio; the Southeast Michigan Synod Candidacy Committee; and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Marshall, Texas, the congregation where Thomas was once a pastor.
In a statement issued April 12, Brooks said the ELCA was grateful that, with the cooperation of its insurance carriers, its share of the total settlement payment is being funded without adversely affecting the mission and ministry of this church. Three ELCA insurance carriers are involved in the churchwide organization's settlement, each of which had insurance in force during different time periods, Brooks explained.
Two of the three insurance carriers for the ELCA had policies with no provision for deductibles to be paid by the church; the third carrier had more than one policy and there is a disagreement about whether or not the church must pay deductibles. "We do not expect to have to pay a deductible," Brooks said, "but if a deductible is paid, that information will be shared when known." Brooks said the churchwide organization is hopeful of reaching a quick resolution of this matter with the third insurance carrier.
The churchwide organization decided to settle because the church wanted to avoid the uncertainty of a jury trial, Brooks said. Attorney's fees to defend the church in the Thomas case were also paid by insurance funds, he added.
"From the beginning the churchwide organization was confident that we had substantial defenses in this case," he said. "However, we knew the matter could have been in the appeals process for years. That would not have been helpful to the victims."
Thomas was pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Marshall, from 1999 until his arrest in May 2001. Thomas pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges of possession of child pornography and was sentenced to serve five years in a federal prison. In state court he was convicted in 2003 of 11 counts of multiple sex crimes against children. He will begin serving a 397-year sentence in a state prison once the federal prison term is completed.
In March 2002 the plaintiffs filed the civil suit against the ELCA and other parties.
In the April 12 statement, Brooks said that "prior to Thomas' arrest the ELCA was unaware of the former pastor's reprehensible conduct toward the plaintiffs in the case."
Allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with children by ELCA clergy are "very rare," he said. Molestation of children is a crime, and the ELCA cooperates fully with law enforcement authorities when incidents do occur, Brooks said. The ELCA urges its congregations and members to immediately report cases of suspected child sexual abuse to local authorities, he said. The ELCA seeks compliance with all states' laws regarding the reporting of child abuse.
Brooks said the ELCA does not tolerate cases of sexual abuse involving clergy. He noted the ELCA's clergy standards policy which states: "Ordained ministers are expected to reject sexual promiscuity, the manipulation of others for purposes of sexual gratification, and all attempts at sexual seduction and sexual harassment, including taking physical or emotional advantage of others."
"When ELCA bishops are presented with allegations of improper conduct by pastors, they investigate these matters promptly," Brooks said. "If there is credible evidence to support the charges, the bishop will immediately seek the pastor's resignation from the ELCA's clergy roster. ELCA bishops do not have authority to reassign clergy, and they do not move known perpetrators to other ministry locations."
People who seek to become ordained ministers in the ELCA go through an extended process of study and evaluation, Brooks said. To the church's knowledge, no other pastor who completed this process has ever been accused of the conduct for which Thomas was convicted in Texas, he said.
"Still, in a continuing effort to guard against such tragedies, the ELCA will review its guidelines and procedures for candidacy for the ordained ministry," Brooks said.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news