Priest says he ‘misremembered’ events after document contradicts his version of investigation

Priest admits error in his account of abuse probe

MILWAUKEE — A priest who investigated allegations of widespread sexual abuse by a fellow priest at a Milwaukee-area school for the deaf has acknowledged that new documents contradict his recent account of events.

The Rev. Thomas Brundage, 47, said Friday that documents first published on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Web site show he advised his archbishop in 1998 how to word a letter abating church legal proceedings against the Rev. Lawrence Murphy.

That contradicts Brundage’s assertion in an essay published March 29 in a Catholic newspaper that he had not been ordered to stop the judicial process.

Brundage, who lives in Alaska, said by phone he was sorry about the mix-up and that he “misremembered” events that happened long ago.

Murphy, who died in 1998, is accused of sexually abusing some 200 boys at the St. John’s School for the Deaf from 1950 to 1974. The case drew renewed scrutiny after the recent release of documents that suggest that a Vatican office led by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — failed to aggressively discipline Murphy.

The dozens of internal church documents were released in conjunction with ongoing civil cases against the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

One was a 1998 letter from then-Archbishop Rembert Weakland, saying he had instructed Brundage “to formally abate the judicial process that had begun against Father Murphy.”

Brundage initially disagreed with that account. In a March 29 article he wrote that he had not been asked to abate, or freeze, the proceedings against Murphy.

“Had I been asked to abate this trial, I most certainly would have insisted that an appeal be made to the supreme court of the church, or Pope John Paul II if necessary,” he wrote.

But documents posted on the Journal Sentinel’s Web site contradict that account.

One document appears to be a rough draft of Weakland’s letter. At the top is a line that addresses Weakland and says the ensuing text is a suggested response to a Vatican letter.

Then follows the text, which includes the line saying Brundage has been asked to abate the proceedings.

At the bottom is the line, “I hope this is of help Archbishop,” followed by Brundage’s typed name and title.

Brundage said by phone Friday that he didn’t realize he had “misremembered” the facts of 12 years ago until he was given a copy of the letter.

“I do admit to being wrong on this issue and I apologize for my mistake,” he said.

The tone of Murphy’s March 29 letter suggested he was confident in his account of the events. When asked whether this one mistake called into question the rest of the letter’s accuracy, Brundage said there was no reason it should.

“When I made a mistake I admitted it right away,” he said. “I think my integrity stands for itself.”