Status of suit against Manchester bishop uncertain after accuser dies
Jul. 30—A former altar boy who accused Manchester Bishop Peter A. Libasci of sexual abuse in the 1980s died earlier this month, leaving the status of his civil case against the bishop uncertain.
The 53-year-old man died earlier this month in New York. In 2021, he filed a lawsuit accusing Libasci, now head of the Catholic Diocese of Manchester of groping him while Libasci was a priest in his early 30s in Rockville Centre, New York.
Christian Curran, the accuser's attorney, sent the death certificate to the clerk of the Suffolk County (New York) Supreme Court on Tuesday after informing the court of his death last week.
The letter, in part, said, "We respectfully request the action be marked stayed at this time."
Curran said he did not wish to comment Tuesday. Attempts to reach Libasci's attorney, Michael J. Connolly, were unsuccessful.
In New York state, there are two ways a suit can move forward when a plaintiff dies. First, if the plaintiff has a will, the executor of the will can choose to proceed. In the absence of a will, an estate administrator can choose to proceed.
Curran would not say if the plaintiff had a will or if his estate wished to move forward with the civil action.
Libasci, who has denied the allegations, is not facing criminal charges. He remains active in his role as Bishop of Manchester.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Manchester did not wish to comment on the lawsuit.
Filed in July 2021, the suit accuses Libasci of fondling and groping a boy aged 12 or 13 on numerous occasions in 1983 and 1984. The lawsuit also suggests that Long Island church leaders knew of previous problems with Libasci but believed they had been "fixed and cured."
The case came to a standstill later in 2021 when Libasci's former diocese filed for bankruptcy in the face of hundreds of allegations against other priests.
In addition to Libasci, the defendants include Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Saints Cyril and Methodius School and its successor school, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School.
The complaint uses the phrase "sexual deviancy" to describe Libasci's actions and refers to the possibility of previous issues.
"The Parish negligently or recklessly believed Abuser was fit to work with children, that any previous problems Abuser had were fixed and cured, that Abuser would not sexually molest children, and that Abuser would not injure children," the suit reads.
In a statement released on behalf of Libasci last year, Connolly said, "The allegation that, almost 40 years ago, Bishop Libasci assaulted an individual while serving as a parish priest in Deer Park, New York, is not true. While Bishop Libasci has great compassion for victims of sexual abuse, he will be forced to vigorously defend these false allegations in court."
Libasci, who had been auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island, was appointed to the Diocese of Manchester in 2011 after Bishop John McCormack retired.
McCormack, who had been an auxiliary bishop in Boston, had been embroiled in the priest sexual abuse scandal there. In Manchester, McCormack committed to reforms to avoid prosecution of the church by New Hampshire authorities.
Libasci's appointment to lead the state's estimated 285,000 Catholics drew criticism from watchdog groups and advocates for sexual assault victims.
In the two years between the time the state of New York lifted its statute of limitations on cases of child sexual abuse in 2019 and when the alleged victim filed his lawsuit 2021, thousands of survivors came forward. More than 200 of the lawsuits alleging sexual abuse were filed against priests and others in the Rockville Centre diocese.
