The Tennessee chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is requesting the Catholic Church’s U.S. governing body investigate of the Diocese of Knoxville for allegedly silencing victims of sexual abuse through a practice outlawed by the church nearly 20 years ago.
The complaint letter, sent Thursday to the National Review Board, said the diocese pushed for a nondisclosure agreement in the December settlement of a sexual abuse case brought by Michael Boyd. In July, Boyd filed a lawsuit alleging he was repeatedly sexually abused between 1991 and 1995 in Knoxville by Monsignor Francis Xavier Mankel, Bishop Anthony O’Connell, visiting priests and diocesan employee William Michael Lovelace.
Boyd’s settlement contains a nondisparagement agreement, which bars him from speaking negatively about the diocese. The complaint letter says non-disclosure and nondisparagement agreements violate the Catholic Church’s 2002 charter on addressing abuse, which states dioceses are “not to enter into settlements which bind the parties to confidentiality.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Review Board guides the policies of the church on protecting youth and audits dioceses for compliance.
In the complaint, Susan Vance, founder of Tennessee’s SNAP, said all settlements since 2002 by the Diocese of Knoxville, as well as the Diocese of Nashville and Diocese of Memphis, should be investigated for similar violations.