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	Parishes Ask Court to Allow Construction By Sandi Dolbee Union-Tribune [San Diego] April 24, 2007 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070424-9999-1m24diocese.html As the San Diego Catholic bankruptcy case nears its two-month anniversary, seven parishes are seeking emergency court permission to resume halted construction projects, and the bishop has sent a letter to parishioners lamenting "adversarial postures" in the proceedings. In a "pastoral update" released at services over the weekend, Bishop Robert Brom said the San Diego Diocese's $95 million settlement offer to victims of sexual abuse "will stretch our financial capability to the limit." Under the settlement proposal, filed last month as part of its reorganization plan, the diocese would pay half of the $95 million, and its insurer would pay the other half. Brom's letter also defended the transfer of at least $1.5 million from the diocese to various parishes in the months before filing for bankruptcy protection. The money was part of the diocese's regular financial assistance to parishes and schools in need, he wrote. Brom spent Friday answering blistering questions from attorneys and alleged victims at a bankruptcy hearing in which he repeatedly said he did not know the value of the diocese's assets. Although the bishop didn't specifically mention that confrontation in his letter, he asked parishioners to pray "that adversarial postures in the reorganization proceedings will be abandoned for the sake of cooperation." Terry Giles, one of the attorneys representing roughly 150 claims of childhood sex abuse against clergy in cases that go back decades, blames the diocese for much of the tension. "How can it be anything but adversarial when they won't tell us the truth?" Giles said yesterday. He also criticized Brom's statement about what the diocese could afford. "How does he know that? He doesn't even know what his property is worth." U.S. Trustee Steven Katzman, who led Friday's hearing, noted during his questioning that the diocese failed to list the market value of 32 of its 34 properties. Instead, much of the property is reported by the tax-assessed value, which means the $97 million in real estate assets is millions of dollars less than it should be in today's market. Although the diocese indicated it would be willing to seek appraisals, Giles said yesterday that the victims also are looking at hiring a firm to conduct their own assessments. Meanwhile, the recently formed Organization of Parishes filed an emergency motion late yesterday seeking the bankruptcy court's permission to continue seven construction projects. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler halted funding for the projects earlier this month. The organization, created to represent the interest of the diocese's nearly 100 parishes, wants to resume the work at least until May 8, when another hearing is set. The seven projects would cost approximately $122,500 a day, according to court documents. They range from a sanctuary at St. Margaret's in Oceanside to classrooms for the school at St. John of the Cross in Lemon Grove. Brom, who left Friday's hearing without speaking to the media and has declined interview requests, began a series of letters to parishioners just before the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Feb. 27. "I prefer to use this direct form of communication rather than utilizing other channels in order to ensure the completeness and accuracy of what I have to say and what needs to be said," he wrote in last weekend's update. Sandi Dolbee: (619) 293-2082; sandi.dolbee@uniontrib.com
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