Fired Zephyr Cove pastor sues Catholic diocese

A Roman Catholic priest has sued the Diocese of Reno and its bishop, claiming he was unjustly fired after he obtained a protective order against a deacon he believes made a death threat against him.

The Rev. Richard DeMolen maintains his July 1 termination as pastor of Our Lady of Tahoe Catholic Church in Zephyr Cove was in retaliation for seeking the protective order against the deacon.

He contends he obtained the temporary protective order after Bishop Randolph Calvo failed to investigate the anonymous death threat he received earlier this year.

The written threat urged DeMolen, 70, to leave the parish.

"It will be well for you to remember the accident that can befall the elderly and their dogs in Tahoe's waters," it reads.

The deacon, who wasn't identified in the complaint, was earlier terminated by DeMolen.

"He depended on the Catholic church to do an investigation, and they did nothing," said Jeffrey Dickerson, DeMolen's attorney. "If what transpired here is allowed to stand, it speaks loudly about the need for reform in the administration of the Catholic church."

The diocese does not comment on lawsuits, spokesman Father Matthew Cunningham said.

DeMolen, in his Washoe County District Court lawsuit filed Sept. 30, is seeking reinstatement to his job and unspecified damages for emotional distress, harm to reputation, lost wages and other reasons.

The lawsuit also accuses Calvo of making unspecified false and defamatory statements about DeMolen to parishioners.

It further contends DeMolen had a right to seek a protective order after receiving the death threat, and that Calvo failed to follow church directives in terminating the priest.

"Once defendants learned of the (death) threat and actually reviewed it ... they failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to plaintiff's safety and distress by failing to investigate and by failing to protect plaintiff or to allow plaintiff to take steps to protect himself," the lawsuit claims.

A hearing is scheduled next week in Tahoe Justice Court on whether to extend the protective order for another year, Dickerson said.

The order initially prohibited the deacon from coming to the parish and later required the deacon to stay away from DeMolen and his home, Dickerson said.

DeMolen was a Fulbright scholar and winner of a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Web site. He was ordained in 1998 at the age of 59 after a career as an educator.