SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The archdiocese of San Antonio says any damages assessed because of a
priest's sexual involvement with several women should be the responsibility of the cleric, not the
church.
In a lawsuit that was scheduled to begin Tuesday, Julia Phelps alleges the archdiocese didn't monitor
the Rev. Michael Kenny, who admitted to long-term sexual relationships with her and several other
women and to fathering two children.
Last week, lawyers for the archdiocese filed court documents saying Kenny is responsible for his own
actions.
"Basically, if the jury finds guilt, we're saying that (Kenny) ought to pay the damages, not the
archdiocese," deacon Pat Rodgers, archdiocesan communications director, told the San Antonio
Express-News in Tuesday's editions.
Testimony isn't expected to start until late Wednesday before 73rd state District Judge Andy Mireles,
said Phelps' Houston attorney, Doug Sutter.
A lawsuit brought by another woman is scheduled for trial in September.
Kenny denied Phelps' accusations in 1993, and the archdiocese insists that she didn't make her
complaint directly to church officials until mid-2000. By then, Kenny had been suspended after
admitting allegations brought by another woman, Jerrilynn Marie White.
White filed suit and that case is set for trial in September.
