By Steve Tawa
KYW
October 19, 2009
http://www.kyw1060.com/Wilmington-Diocese-Declares-Bankruptcy-Ahead-of-Ab/5472490
The Diocese of Wilmington, Del. announced on Monday that it is filing for bankruptcy, one day before a sex abuse trial against it was set to begin.
Bishop Francis Malooly (above), who leads about 230,000 Roman Catholics in Delaware and the eastern shore area of Maryland, says the Chapter 11 filing offers the best opportunity, given limited resources, to provide the fairest treatment for all victims of sexual abuse by priests of his diocese.
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| Francis Malooly, bishop of Wilmington, flanked by attorneys at a press conference on Monday |
The filing, which freezes all lawsuits under an automatic stay, came just hours before the first of several high-profile sexual abuse trials against clergy members.
Several plaintiffs had filed lawsuits against one former priest, Francis DeLuca, who served for 35 years but was defrocked last summer.
The bishop says it is his hope that the Chapter 11 proceeding will enable the church to fairly compensate all victims through a single process established by the bankruptcy court.
Thomas Neuberger, an attorney representing 88 alleged sex abuse victims, says the bankruptcy process will conceal thousands of pages of what he calls "scandalous" documents from being made public in court.
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