Three siblings who say they were molested as children by the same Los Angeles priest filed new allegations of abuse this week against a worldwide religious order, which is the only Roman Catholic organization involved in the 6-year-old clergy scandal that has yet to settle any civil claims.
The three allege the Salesian Society, with 16,000 priests, ignored clear signs that Father Titian Miani was a dangerous pedophile. Over the years, he was placed in a succession of church roles in different locations, including a boys orphanage in Canada and a boys school in Bellflower, where he preyed on more than a dozen children, according to the civil lawsuit.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, February 07, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 3 inches; 121 words Type of Material: Correction
Molestation lawsuit: An article in the Jan. 24 California section about a lawsuit filed by three siblings who alleged they were molested by a priest with the Salesian Society incorrectly said the suit would be the first since the Roman Catholic clergy abuse scandal erupted six years ago in which a jury would decide the church's culpability. The lawsuit names the Salesian order, a Catholic society, as a defendant, not the church. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles was earlier dismissed as a defendant after settling claims against it. Although the case would be the first in Southern California to go before a jury, other civil cases against the Salesian order and the church have gone to juries elsewhere in the state.
The allegations, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, contend that the Salesian Society routinely transferred its accused members "often internationally" and placed loyalty to clergy "far above the duty to protect poor and vulnerable children." The siblings alleged that Miani abused them repeatedly in the mid-1960s.
"We abhor any abuse, especially of the young, be it sexual or psychological, physical or emotional," said Father John Itzaina, second in command of the Salesians on the West Coast. The Salesians do not defend Miani, Itzaina said, but "absolutely deny" the order had any notice that he posed a danger to youth.
Records in the case show that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles sent at least one letter to the Salesians alerting them to allegations that Miani had abused a child.
Miani was charged with molesting children in 2003, but a month later the U.S. Supreme Court ruled California's attempt to criminally prosecute decades-old sexual abuse cases was unconstitutional. Although criminal charges were prohibited, a state law in 2002 gave alleged victims one year to make civil claims regarding older instances of abuse that normally would have been barred by statutes of limitation.
The Salesian order is the only Roman Catholic organization sued in civil court in California that has not yet settled claims based on that law.
The Salesians refused to join in a $660-million settlement between the Los Angeles Archdiocese and more than 500 plaintiffs who said they were abused.
The civil case involving Miani is scheduled for trial in March and represents the first time a jury will be asked to decide the church's culpability. A judge recently ruled that there is evidence the Society acted with "malice and oppression" in failing to protect children, potentially opening the door for punitive damages.
