Priest Agrees to Therapy to Settle Case : Lawsuit: Father John Lenihan acknowledges that he had two sexual encounters with a teen-age girl in 1978. She raised the accusations last year.

A Roman Catholic priest who has headed one of the largest parishes in the Orange Diocese has agreed to undergo therapy to settle a lawsuit involving the sexual molestation of a girl in 1978.

The settlement, involving Father John Lenihan, 44, pastor of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim, was reached last month as part of a 1990 civil lawsuit brought by Mary Staggs, who is now 27.

Staggs alleged that she was first molested by Lenihan at age 13 when she was a member of a youth group at St. Norbert Catholic Church in Orange. The incidents continued until she was 15, she said in court documents.

Staggs said she “mentally repressed” the actions of the priest and did not remember the incidents until May, 1988. She said she decided to file a lawsuit after she saw a photograph of the priest in a newspaper article in 1989.

In a telephone interview on Monday, Lenihan acknowledged that he underwent counseling 12 years ago after asking Staggs after a tennis match to “see her body” while they were in a car.

According to a deposition taken on Oct. 2, 1990, Lenihan said the incident--one of two encounters--occurred during the summer of 1978, occurred when he was 32 and Staggs was 15.

Lenihan said he is remorseful and has agreed to undergo more therapy as a condition of the settlement.

The Most Rev. Norman F. McFarland, bishop of the Orange Diocese, issued a statement saying that the matter “was addressed” more than 12 years ago by his predecessor, Bishop William R. Johnson.

“Since then, there has not been the slightest hint of wrongdoing or scandal connected to Father Lenihan,” McFarland said. “He has led an exemplary life of dedicated service to the church and community, which I myself have observed and admired over the past four years that I have known him.”

There are no time restrictions on Lenihan’s therapy. But Staggs’ attorney, Jeffrey A. Milman, said he does expect status reports on Lenihan’s treatment.

After the incidents, Lenihan sought advice and counsel from then Msgr. Michael P. Driscoll, now auxiliary bishop.

In a prepared statement, Driscoll said he agreed with Bishop McFarland’s response, and said: “I have nothing further to add.”

The settlement includes an amount of money for Staggs and her husband, who also sued the priest and St. Norbert, Milman said. Milman declined to disclose the sum.