PORTLAND (OR)
Statesman Journal
August 20, 2005
In the 13 months since the Archdiocese of Portland declared bankruptcy, it has run up millions of dollars in legal fees. Its bill since then for counseling victims of clergy sex abuse: zero.
That's because the archdiocese needs the bankruptcy court's permission now to take on certain expenses. Although the legal situation is murky, bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris must find a way to allow the church to resume its former practice of providing counseling for some people who have filed sexual-abuse claims against the church.
In the past few months, three sexual-abuse plaintiffs have committed suicide. The most recent was a 49-year-old Marion County man whose case was to come up for mediation late this month. A 44-year-old Portland man who received a $1 million settlement killed himself in February. A 43-year-old Portland plaintiff committed suicide in December.
Would a trained counselor have made a difference for any of these men? There is no way to know, but if credible victims are distraught and unable to afford mental-health care, the court must see that they get it.