On Monday, the Thatchers' lawyer admitted into evidence internal church documents showing that top leaders of the Oakland diocese had numerous warnings that Ponciroli was a child molester, yet they promoted him to be the founding pastor of the Antioch parish.Īmong those testifying Tuesday at the Hayward Hall of Justice was another admitted pedophile priest, the Rev. The legal morass surrounding the Catholic Church was created by a 2002 law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on damages claims against organizations that gave known child molesters access to more victims. 'There's progress being made in San Francisco and Oakland,' said Walnut Creek attorney Mike Meadows, who represents clients on both sides of the bay.Īttorneys for victims, the Oakland diocese and its various insurance companies have been called to meet Monday afternoon with Alameda County Superior Court Judge David Hunter, one of two judges overseeing settlement negotiations. Separate negotiations are continuing toward a possible settlement of about 75 cases against the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which includes San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties, and more than 40 claims facing the Oakland diocese, which runs parishes in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The outcome of the case could encourage the collective settlement of more than 150 similar lawsuits filed against Catholic dioceses across Northern California. Twelve jurors have been called to pass judgment on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland for its admittedly negligent supervision of a known pedophile priest. Troy's story is much like the one told by two other former altar boys, Bob and Tom Thatcher, the plaintiffs in this closely watched trial before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Harry Sheppard. He said he had been enticed up to the priest's bed, told to take off his shirt and grabbed from behind for an extended round of 'tickling.' Troy Wood explained the reason in court himself on Tuesday. Wood and her husband questioned their son and found out why. 'He didn't want to be around the church and he did not want to talk about why.'

'Troy started having all these excuses for not going over to cut the lawn, ' Mabis Wood recalled in a Hayward courtroom Tuesday.

Tickling game