Presbytery, Foundation named in sexual-abuse lawsuit The Layman Volume 35, Number 3 Posted June 3, 2002 The Presbytery of Chicago and the $2-billion Presbyterian Foundation have been named as defendants in a lawsuit in which a Presbyterian youth minister in Chicago allegedly abused four minor boys in the 1990s. The youth minister, identified as Douglas R. Mason, now of Miami, Fla., served for 14 years as the executive director of the San Marcos Youth Ministry. The suit alleges that Mason took the boys out of school during the day to have sex, take explicit photographs, film them and give them alcohol and cigarettes. In its account of the story published on May 15, the Chicago Sun-Times said court papers allege that Mason used church credit cards to pay for the beer and cigarettes. Joseph A. Power Jr., one of the lawyers representing the four young men, told the Sun-Times that Mason “bought alcohol with church credit cards and he abused them in the church property for many years. They [presbytery officials] certainly should have known what was happening.” It alleges that the incidents occurred in various locations at the youth ministry, the offices of the Presbytery of Chicago and movie theaters, as well as on field trips to Michigan and Wisconsin. The complaint claims that Mason “systematically and sexually abuse(d) the minor parishioners of the San Marcos Youth Ministry for over nine years.” Soon after the suit was filed on May 14, Robert C. Reynolds, the Chicago Presbytery’s executive, issued a statement saying, “The Presbytery had no knowledge of any allegations until six months after Reverend Mason resigned as executive director, which was after the misconduct was alleged to have occurred. “The Presbytery’s intolerance of sexual misconduct is clear. Christ teaches us to love and respect all people and to protect the weak, an obligation at the core of our belief. We abhor sexual abuse of children and feel great sympathy for any who are harmed.” Reynolds said the presbytery had taken a number of actions based on the statements of the plaintiffs, including naming an investigative committee. Although the presbytery’s investigation found no “tangible evidence or third party testimony that would corroborate the plaintiffs’ stories,” the presbytery has rescinded Mason’s right to work as a Presbyterian minister until the case is resolved. Also named a defendant in the case is the bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago of the Roman Catholic Church. The Chicago Tribune said the Catholic Church was accused of negligence for allegedly releasing the boys to Mason during school hours while they were students at St. Gregory Catholic High School. According to the lawsuit, San Marcos provided the boys with scholarships to the high school as part of contracts that required them to attend religious services and a Bible study. The Layman was unable to contact Laura Plumby, counsel for the Presbyterian Foundation, to determine why the foundation was named in the lawsuit. The Presbytery of Chicago voted in 1997, 1998 and 2001 against the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard that is part of the Book of Order.

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