Outrage after US Catholic Church files for bankruptcy and delays sexual abuse claims
Pastor Dale Morgan
From The Times
October 20, 2009
*Outrage after US Catholic Church files for bankruptcy and delays sexual
abuse claims*
Tim Reid in Washington
Alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of US Catholic priests
expressed outrage yesterday after a diocese in Delaware filed for
bankruptcy on the eve of a trial, delaying the claims of more than 140
people.
The bankruptcy filing by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington
delayed the civil trial that had been due to begin yesterday, the first
of eight abuse hearings scheduled in the state.
Thomas Neuberger, a lawyer representing 88 alleged victims, described
the bankruptcy filing as a “desperate effort to hide the truth from the
public and conceal thousands of pages of scandalous documents” from
being aired in court.
“This filing is the latest, sad chapter in the diocese’s decades-long
cover-up of these despicable crimes to maintain the secrecy surrounding
its responsibility and complicity in the sexual abuse of hundreds of
Catholic children,” he said.
Mr Neuberger said that the diocese’s action may mean that some sick and
elderly victims could die before getting their day in court. The Diocese
of Wilmington is the seventh in the US to seek bankruptcy protection
since a nationwide priest abuse scandal erupted seven years ago.
It has paid more than $6.2 million (£3.7 million) since 2002 to settle
sexual abuse lawsuits. Like others around the country, Wilmington has
also paid settlements to alleged victims who did not file lawsuits. The
largest payout in America was by the Los Angeles Archdiocese, which
settled 508 cases with $660 million in 2007.
Mr Neuberger said that he would make court filings in Delaware to “meet
this fraudulent tactic with the full force of law”. More than 20
Delaware plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against Francis DeLuca, a former
priest. He served for 35 years and was defrocked last year after being
jailed in 2007 in New York for molesting his grand-nephew.
The Right Rev Francis Malooly, Bishop of the Wilmington Diocese, said
that the bankruptcy filing was a “painful decision” but “will enable us
to fairly compensate all victims through a single process established by
the bankruptcy court”. The bankruptcy filing lists the diocese’s assets
of between $50 million and $100 million but said that its estimated debt
was between $100 million and $500 million.
Bishop Malooly said that three years ago, his predecessor released the
names of 18 priests who had admitted or otherwise substantiated
allegations of the abuse of minors.
Barbara Blaine, the head of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by
Priests, said that the filing was a ploy to hide the truth.