wfn.org | Correction: Florida-Bahamas Synod Settles Court Case

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 27, 1999

CORRECTION: FLORIDA-BAHAMAS SYNOD SETTLES COURT CASE
99-132-JB

[Editors: Please substitute the following for the first three paragraphs
of the story previously issued under the same headline on May 18, 1999.]

     CHICAGO (ELCA)   The Florida-Bahamas Synod, one of 65 synods of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will pay $250,000 in
settlement to a Fort Lauderdale woman who was abused in counseling by a
former pastor in the synod.
     In her suit, Kerry Fitzgerald claimed that then-Rev. Conny
Sjostrom initiated improper sexual contact with her in 1992, early in
her counseling sessions with him.  Fitzgerald reported the misconduct in
1994, and Sjostrom resigned immediately when confronted by the Rev.
Lavern G. Franzen, who was then bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod.
     Sjostrom's misconduct occurred in his capacity as spiritual
director for St. Francis Mission, a drug and alcohol counseling center
not affiliated with the ELCA or synod. During the same time period,
Sjostrom also served as a pastor at St. Francis Chapel, an ELCA
congregation that has since disbanded.  During the trial, Fitzgerald's
attorneys suggested the synod knew about Sjostrom's improper conduct, a
point denied by the synod.

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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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