BishopAccountability.org
	Lawyer Says San Diego Diocese's Bankruptcy Threat Is a Ploy Associated Press, carried in Mercury News [San Diego CA] February 20, 2007 http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16737355.htm An attorney representing people who claim they were abused by priests sharply criticized the Catholic Diocese of San Diego Monday, saying its threat to file for bankruptcy was an attempt to suppress full disclosure of the sex abuse scandal. "It's a bad idea for the church," said attorney Irwin Zalkin, who represents 45 accusers. "It's nothing but a way to protect this bishop and his predecessors - to keep the truth from coming out." In a letter to parishioners released Sunday, Bishop Robert H. Brom said the diocese is considering filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court because of lawsuits filed on behalf of 143 people. A message left at the San Diego Diocese after business hours Monday was not immediately returned. The first of the lawsuits was set to begin trial next week. The strategy of filing for bankruptcy before a trial has been used by other dioceses faced with such lawsuits. Filing a Chapter 11 petition would block the lawsuits from going to court. However, it would then prompt a round of complex and possibly costly wrangling in bankruptcy court. Lawyers of the alleged victims and the diocese could be ordered into negotiations by the bankruptcy judge. Pretrial negotiations in the San Diego cases have so far failed to reach a settlement. The San Diego diocese, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, has 98 churches, runs 50 schools and has nearly 1 million parishioners.
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