LOUISVILLE — Six men who claim they were molested as youngsters by a priest say Catholic Church officials were informed about the allegations decades ago, a newspaper reported Sunday.

        Parents of four of the men say that they or their husbands reported the alleged misconduct by the Rev. Louis E. Miller, according to the Courier-Journal of Louisville. The parents say the Archdiocese of Louisville either did nothing or transferred Father Miller to another school.

        The six men, all now middle-aged, are former Catholic school students. Five of them have sued the archdiocese; one has not.

        Meanwhile, Bishop Charles G. Maloney told the newspaper that he remembered parents of a Holy Spirit School student reporting to him in the early 1960s that Father Miller had done something wrong.

        “I don't remember any of the particulars,” Bishop Maloney, 89, told the newspaper in a telephone interview last week from Caritas Medical Center, where he was being treated for a heart ailment; he's since been released. “I simply took their word it was something bad and passed it along.”

        Bishop Maloney said he would have turned over such allegations to then-Archbishop John A. Floersh, who died in 1968.

        If proven true, the allegations by the former students and their parents could be key to lawsuits by 13 plaintiffs who claim they were molested by Father Miller 20-40 years ago.

        Legal experts say that if the Archdiocese of Louisville is shown to have concealed evidence that it knew Father Miller may have been a sexual predator, the plaintiffs could work around Kentucky's statute of limitations, which requires most suits to be filed within one year of an injury or within one year of a minor's 18th birthday.

        Margaret Corcoran, who is now 78, recalls her son — James B. “Jim” Corcoran, then a 13-year-old seventh-grader and now a plaintiff in the case — coming home from school one day as “white as a sheet.”

        The altar boy told his father that Father Miller had molested him in the sacristy of the church immediately after Mass, Margaret Corcoran said. “My husband wanted to go knock his block off,” she said. “I told him that is not the way to handle it.”

        Instead, they told Father Miller's boss at Holy Spirit, the Right Rev. John W. Vance, according to Mr. Corcoran and his mother.

        “Father Vance didn't believe me,” said Jim Corcoran, who is now 52 and a commercial artist.

        “He said there is nothing wrong with Father Miller,” Margaret Corcoran recalled. “He said your boy needs to see a psychiatrist.”

        Father Vance died in 1976.

        Archdiocesan officials have said they had no record of complaints against Father Miller before receiving one in late 1989, which prompted his removal from ministries involving children.

        Citing the pending litigation, Spokeswoman Cecilia Price said the archdiocese would have no comment.

Many Catholics demand disclosure
Cardinal: New solution sought
Cleveland bishop calls for prayer and fidelity
Men say church knew of sex abuse decades ago
Landlords angered by mini-riot damage
Oxford grads take prizes
Warren Co. roads taking on orange hue
Woman leaps out of moving vehicle
BRONSON: Death row
CROWLEY: Erpenbeck gossip has sad undertone
Some Good News
You Asked For It
Authorities concerned about rise in dogfighting
Boone looks to its past
Both parties court growing new bloc of Hispanic voters
City's 'just a few prayers' from healing
Domestic violence funds pulled
Indiana 'warriors' slammed
Mine-safety system has mixed reviews
Money worries clog sewer project
Renovation gives police more space
School-funding report author sues
Tot has just cuts, bruises in 30-foot fall
Traficant skipping primary
Walk circle, seek self
Kentucky A.M. report
Tristate A.M. report