Three women are suing the Catholic Diocese of Erie, Bishop Donald W. Trautman and retired Bishop Michael J. Murphy for allegedly slandering or libeling them in public statements made a year ago.

The women said the slanderous statements were made about their concerns in the case of a former diocesan priest, Robert F. Bower, according to the Erie Times-News.

Bower was arrested in 1999 on felony charges that he possessed child pornography on his personal computer; he resigned from the priesthood more than a year ago, the Times-News said.

The women filed their suit Wednesday and hired Greenville lawyer Richard A. Peterson to represent them, the newspaper said.

The women told the Times-News they tried to raise concerns about Bower before he was arrested. They said they met with Bishop Murphy in 1982 and he did nothing to discipline Bower.

One of the women claims that she was fired two days after the meeting and that she and the other women were defamed by the bishops.

This is the first time someone has sued the 13-county Erie diocese in connection with a sex-abuse case, the Times-News said.