Diocesan Assets at Risk in Lawsuits, Beth Miller, The News Journal, May 12, 2009

Diocesan Assets at Risk in Lawsuits

By Beth Miller
The News Journal
May 12, 2009

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090512/NEWS01/905120338

[link to The Dialogue ]

Bishop Francis Malooly vows "to bring healing to all victims and families and to try to restore the trust that was broken when these crimes were committed."

Bishop W. Francis Malooly warned parishioners throughout the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington that church officials may be forced to sell "hard assets" to pay settlements on child sexual abuse cases that he expects to top $9 million by the end of June.

In a letter published in the diocese's weekly newspaper, The Dialog, Malooly said he continues to pray for victims of abuse, urges those who have been abused to come forward, and urged parishioners to "join me in praying that the Holy Spirit will guide all involved in this process to bring healing to victims and that our church will emerge purified and renewed."

He also pledged to continue the work of retired Bishop Michael Saltarelli "to bring healing to all victims and families and to try to restore the trust that was broken when these crimes were committed." He said a "reasonable monetary settlement" is part of that process.

However, Malooly said, the financial cost of that commitment has been steep.

About $8 million in settlements and legal expenses has been paid since the 1980s -- more than $6 million of it since 2002, when such allegations emerged into a national scandal. Diocese officials expect another $1.5 million in costs by the end of this fiscal year, June 30.

Insurance has covered barely $1 million of those costs, with the rest of the money coming from unrestricted and undesignated funds.

Most of Delaware's cases have been filed since 2007, when the state adopted the Child Victim's Act, giving victims of child sexual abuse a two-year window during which they could file claims that would have otherwise been barred by the statute of limitations. The two-year window closes in July.

To date, 57 cases alleging sexual abuse have been filed against the diocese and other defendants -- priests and three religious orders -- the Norbertine Fathers, the Capuchin Friars and the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales -- that minister within the diocese. One lay teacher in a Catholic school also has been sued.

Eight of the 10 diocesan priests named in lawsuits are dead. The other two -- Francis G. DeLuca and Edward Dudzinski -- have been removed from ministry and laicized by order of the pope, diocesan officials said. DeLuca lives in Syracuse, N.Y., where he pleaded guilty in 2007 to sexually assaulting a teenage relative. Dudzinski lives in Herndon, Va.

One case was settled out of court, and diocesan officials would not provide any other information about that case.

That case raised a "red flag" for David Clohessy, national director of the victims advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), who said it may be an effort to keep that perpetrator's name a secret.

And, Clohessy said, not enough has been said about those who moved priests around from parish to parish, trying to quiet rumors and prevent public scandal.

"To everyone else, this is a clergy sex abuse and cover-up crisis," he said. "But Malooly and his colleagues insist on trying to make it just about the predator priests. The truth is, if it was just about predator priests there would not be a single lawsuit. What enrages victims and upsets parents and motivates everyone is preventing future deceit and recklessness and callousness by the hierarchy. The reason it's a crisis is not because priests molest. It's because bishops conceal. And for him to pontificate about how every abuse is horrific with no mention of a single deceptive church employee is just shameless spinning."

Malooly was not available to speak to The News Journal on Monday, diocesan spokesman Robert G. Krebs said.

It is not yet clear what diocesan assets might be in jeopardy, Krebs said.

"The window doesn't close until the summer, so we don't know what is in jeopardy until we can take a look at the number of suits on the table and what our liability could be," Krebs said.

No ministries are in jeopardy "at this point," Krebs said.

In his letter, Malooly said diocesan policy is to acknowledge the harm done, apologize for the crimes, reach out to victims and their families, pay for past and current expenses, and reach a "reasonable" monetary settlement.

"We also want to be transparent and keep you informed," Malooly wrote.

Wilmington attorney Thomas S. Neuberger, whose firm has filed the majority of pending suits, said Malooly's effort was "admirable."

"He has not threatened bankruptcy or cried 'wolf' or said the diocese will not be able to make fair compensation to victims," Neuberger said. "... I'm guardedly optimistic that he would be a man of his word and this would be the course they are going to run."

Krebs said he did not know whether the bishop plans to release the names of other religious order priests with similar allegations against them.

The Rev. Kevin Nadolski, spokesman for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, against which more than a dozen plaintiffs have filed suit, said annual accountings like those released by the diocese "are not part of our custom. As we move forward, I am not sure what sort of information we would release."

After allegations of sexual abuse by priests emerged into a national scandal in 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops ordered all dioceses to develop policies to protect children, ordered the end of confidential settlements, and ordered church officials to report all allegations to civil authorities.

The Diocese of Wilmington in 2003 adopted a comprehensive policy and new regulations -- outlined in "For the Sake of God's Children" -- and ordered criminal background checks and specialized training for all those who worked with children and youth.

Saltarelli in 2006 released the names of 20 diocesan priests against whom the diocese had "admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated" allegations of sexual abuse of minors. He declined to release the names of priests in religious orders who had similar allegations against them.