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WASHINGTON (AP) - The families of two men allegedly killed by a Roman Catholic priest in Hudson, Wis., urged the nation's bishops to adopt changes aimed at weeding out troubled priests, and asked the bishops to arrange a meeting for them with Pope Benedict XVI.
A Wisconsin judge last month ruled that the Rev. Ryan Erickson almost certainly shot to death funeral home director Dan O'Connell, 39, and employee James Ellison, 22, in 2002. St. Croix County District Attorney Eric Johnson said evidence suggests O'Connell learned the priest was sexually abusing someone, was providing alcohol to minors, or both. Erickson committed suicide last year.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is meeting in Washington this week, declined the families' request to make a bishop available to meet with them. Instead, the bishops sent out Teresa Kettelkamp, the executive director of the group's office of child and youth protection, to meet with the family members for about 15 minutes.
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