October 15, 2008
Archdiocese of Miami acknowledges secret settlements in abuse cases
MIAMI - The Archdiocese of Miami secretly paid several men to settle sexual abuse allegations against a Roman Catholic priest, church officials acknowledged.
Archdiocese spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta said church leaders promptly removed the priest and followed church guidelines for dealing with the allegations. She declined to say more because the settlements were confidential.
A lawyer in two of the cases identified the priest as the Rev. Joseph Cinesi.
"People should know that these things are going on, and I'm glad that the shroud of secrecy is unraveling," lawyer Russell S. Adler said.
Adler said he represented two men who won settlements in the late 1990s for incidents when Cinesi was at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale.
Both men were over 18 at the time of the abuse, Adler said.
Cinesi stepped down from St. Maurice Catholic Church in Broward County in August 1999, saying he wanted to fight false allegations.
The archdiocese said he could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Another lawyer, Ellis Rubin, said he handled three settlements with the archdiocese for men who were molested as boys. He would not name the accused priest because of confidentiality agreements.
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