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	Judge Keeps Gag Order on Portland Archdiocese Bankruptcy Case Associated Press, carried in KGW [Oregon] March 2, 2007 http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8NJUO380.html U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris declined to lift a gag order that prevents lawyers and victims of alleged sexual abuse from talking about the proposed financial reorganization of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland. Attorney Erin Olson, who represents several of the victims, has been trying to have the gag order dropped since the plan was announced in December. During a hearing Thursday, she described it as "a perpetuation of the conspiracy of silence that led the archdiocese into bankruptcy in the first place." But Thomas Stilley, a lawyer for the archdiocese, said public discussion of the case could thwart the plan, which enables the church to settle the majority of claims, limit its liability for remaining claims, and continue operations without selling parish properties or schools. "If we open this up for a free-for-all, I worry about what is going to happen, whether we're going to have a groundswell that we don't need," Stilley told Perris. The gag order was imposed by the two judges who mediated the settlement — U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan and Lane County Circuit Judge Lyle Velure. In court documents, they contend the secrecy was needed to find common ground and build trust among the parties. They also said secrecy is a common feature of mediation and supported by law. If approved next month, the bankruptcy reorganization plan will pay about $40 million to the 146 claimants who have settled their cases. About two dozen lawyers representing the archdiocese and eight insurance companies had been fighting over liability and coverage issues since the Portland archdiocese became the first in the nation to file for bankruptcy protection in July 2004. Advocates for abuse victims have criticized the reorganization plan for the limits it places on potential damage awards for those who choose to go to trial instead of settling their cases out of court. "What other organization in the U.S., or the world, that is involved in sexual abuse of children lands on their feet, gets restructured, gets insurance, puts a cap on settlements, continues to hide documents," said Bill Crane, director of the Oregon chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "They are definitely getting all the protection they want from bankruptcy."
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