Priest Forced to Quit Has Been Assisting Fraternities

A former Orange County priest whose alleged molestations of a teenage boy led the Roman Catholic Church to pay a $5.2-million settlement has been hosting gatherings of young men in his home as part of an unpaid job as an advisor to college fraternities.

As recently as April 6, Michael Harris hosted a retreat for Sigma Pi pledges from Cal State Long Beach at his Oceanside house, according to the chapter president. A few weeks earlier, chapter leaders from Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, San Diego State and UC Berkeley met there.

Harris spoke to presidents of Sigma Pi’s 140 chapters in St. Louis in February, six months after the record settlement by the dioceses of Los Angeles and Orange County made national news. Harris has denied the allegations. Church officials settled the case “for their own business reasons,” he said. He reluctantly agreed to leave the priesthood.

Harris did not return phone messages left at his office.

In 1994, when he resigned as principal of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Harris told supporters in a letter that he was leaving because of stress. Afterward, however, the Diocese of Orange flew Harris to St. Luke’s Institute in Maryland, a treatment center for priests.

Doctors there concluded Harris was sexually attracted to adolescent boys and that there was substance to the molestation allegations. “In one of the interviews, he did admit that he has been sexually aroused while hugging adolescent boys,” according to a report made by the St. Luke’s medical staff. The doctors recommended in-patient treatment, which Harris refused, and that he have no unsupervised contact with minors.

In August, the dioceses of Orange and Los Angeles disclosed that they had paid $5.2 million--at the time the largest publicly disclosed settlement of its kind--to a Laguna Hills man who had filed suit alleging that Harris molested him in 1991.

Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray also ordered the church to issue public apologies to the Laguna Hills man and four others who said Harris had molested them. The judge said the victims’ stories “made my skin crawl.”

The district attorney’s office determined there was not enough evidence to prosecute the former priest.

Sigma Pi’s national leaders said they stand behind Harris. Noting that he has never been charged with a crime, the leaders--adults who left college years ago--said they see nothing wrong with his advising young men. Sigma Pi’s national president, Ed Panconi, declined to talk about Harris, except to say in a prepared statement that the former priest “has been very helpful to us in presenting educational programs over the years and we appreciate his work for us.

“To our knowledge he has never been determined by a court of law to have engaged in any criminal or civil wrongdoing, and in our country, people are considered innocent until proven guilty. We believe that Dr. Harris is entitled to that same presumption and we support him as a brother during this difficult time.”

But an official for a national association of fraternities said that Greek organizations should be cautious about who serves as role models for impressionable young men.

“Their behavior should always be above reproach,” said Jon Williamson, executive vice president of the North American Interfraternity Conference, which represents 66 fraternities on 800 campuses.

Katherine K. Freberg, an attorney for the plaintiff who won the record settlement and an apology, expressed outrage that Harris would continue to have contact with youths.

“If I were assured they were all males over 18, confident in their sexuality, confident within themselves, I wouldn’t have a problem with it,” Freberg said. “But someone under 18 or someone who hasn’t quite come to terms with their sexuality, to put them with someone who has that power and control over them, could sway them to do something they normally wouldn’t, I would have a problem with that.”

Fraternity chapters are private organizations, so campus administrators have little authority over them. If the group’s house is off campus, officials can only prohibit the organizations from using campus facilities.

While some undergraduates in local chapters knew of Harris’ problems, others did not. “This is new to us,” said Steve Dias, president of the San Diego chapter. “I’d have to bring it to my chapter to discuss.”

Scott Harris, president of the Berkeley chapter, said he met the former priest at the March meeting at Michael Harris’ house. He didn’t know about the molestation allegations until a reporter told him.

Some fraternity members were following the national organization’s lead. “Our whole chapter supports the monsignor,” said Jeff Blackman, president of the Long Beach chapter, using Harris’ former title. “He really does phenomenal things for us.”

For many years, Harris was the public face of the Catholic Church in Orange County, a man revered for his charisma, good looks and powerful public-speaking abilities. As a priest, he developed connections with business and social leaders.

Since being forced to give up the priesthood, Harris has started a business that develops low-income housing with the help of government funds. His board of directors includes some of Orange County’s most prominent businesspeople.

The man who introduced Harris to Sigma Pi was John Merino, a friend for decades and assistant principal at Mater Dei when Harris was principal there. Merino for years has guided Mater Dei boys into Sigma Pi.

Merino, 66, has been national president of the fraternity and served on the Grand Council for a decade. Merino started the Long Beach chapter when he was an undergraduate and is the chapter advisor. He also founded the Fullerton chapter and served as its advisor.

“Are you going to condemn somebody because they’re accused and not convicted?” Merino asked. “It didn’t go to trial where he could refute it. To me [the settlement] was a big mistake.”

Merino said Harris has spoken at about half a dozen national conferences, has been involved with chapters for about 10 years and helped write a national handbook.

Merino said he told a national Sigma Pi leader about the allegations against Harris when they surfaced. “I said allegations had been made and nothing had been proven,” Merino said.

David Defilippo, advisor to the Fullerton chapter, downplayed the allegations against Harris: “I don’t think it’s important to anything. I don’t think it’s relevant to the frat.”