By Sean O'Sullivan
The News Journal
August 12 2010
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100812/NEWS01/8120339
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| Attorney Thomas S. Neuberger says delays prevent healing. |
Eight plaintiffs in sexual abuse cases against Delaware Catholic priests will be allowed to testify in U.S. Bankruptcy Court today in what is being described as an unprecedented proceeding.
The victims will be allowed to speak as part of a hearing in which Bankruptcy Judge Christopher J. Sontchi weighs whether to extend a delay that's holding up about 81 lawsuits that name individual Catholic parishes as defendants, or parishes and the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington as co-defendants.
Other cases involving only the diocese will not be affected and will remain on hold while bankruptcy proceedings continue.
Victims' advocates and attorneys said Sontchi's decision to take testimony is a significant development because few victims of sexual abuse by priests ever get a chance to speak in court, let alone in a bankruptcy proceeding.
"The overwhelming majority of victims don't or can't sue," said David Clohessy, executive director of the advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. "And the overwhelming majority of those that do are [tossed out] on legal technicalities like statutes of limitation, or the case settles."
Attorneys representing the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington argue that the delay in the parish cases is needed to allow officials to focus on settlement negotiations and financial issues related to the bankruptcy.
The diocese filed for bankruptcy protection last October, on the eve of what was set to be the first of dozens of trials in lawsuits brought by plaintiffs charging abuse by Catholic priests and seeking damages under the Delaware Child Victims Act of 2007.
Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the abuse lawsuits -- who are a party to the bankruptcy proceedings -- argue that further delays will irreparably harm them as individuals and prevent them from getting on with their healing and recovery. In court papers, attorney Thomas S. Neuberger argued that plaintiffs have suffered through numerous delays already and should not be forced to endure any more.
For some, speaking today will not only be the first time they will be testifying in court but also the first time some have ever spoken publicly about what happened to them as children, Neuberger said.
Three of those set to testify have so far been identified only as "John Doe" in court papers.
In a motion by Neuberger opposing further delays, psychiatrist Carol Tavani is quoted as saying that it is difficult for many victims of childhood sexual abuse to come forward and confront what happened, and once they do, "It is important that there's some progress, that they proceed with this" to fully recover. "No trial, no validation. No validation, no justice," she said, and any delays prolong the pain and slow the healing process.
SNAP outreach director Barbara Dorris agreed. Allowing victims to testify "says that in the judicial system, you do have standing," she said.
"It sends a very strong message to others [who have been abused] that if you tell, people will help you," she said.
Attorney Anthony Flynn, who is representing the Diocese of Wilmington, said the delay the diocese is seeking is brief -- just over a month -- to allow negotiations to continue and potentially resolve all 157 outstanding claims.
"We are trying not to create any more hardship," Flynn said, adding that the diocese has reduced its extension demand from 90 days to six weeks, long enough to allow two more scheduled mediation sessions to take place.
"We don't think there is any harm extending the stay six weeks," he said. "On the other hand, if cases suddenly start in earnest, it could be counterproductive," he said.
Several cases against the parishes are set to start this fall in state court.
Legal experts and victims' advocates say that beyond the effect on the Delaware cases, Sontchi's decision to hear from victims directly sets a hopeful precedent for other victims of abuse by priests.
"It is unheard of," said attorney Jeff R. Anderson, who represents several plaintiffs in lawsuits against Delaware priests but is not directly involved in the bankruptcy proceedings.
Anderson, who is based in Minnesota, has been involved in other priest abuse cases across the country and at least four other Catholic diocese bankruptcy proceedings. He said the irreparable-harm arguments against the delay being made by Delaware victims have been made in other cases, but none resulted in direct testimony in bankruptcy court.
"It is just a very good thing that survivors are allowed to give testimony and begin to tell their stories, even if it is not a full airing," Anderson said. "That is a real powerful thing."
Victims' testimony today is going to be limited to about four hours for all eight plaintiffs and will be limited to the potential harm caused by additional delays.
Anderson and victims' advocates charge that church organizations have sought bankruptcy protection to avoid bad publicity. Allowing victim testimony undermines that as a tactic to silence victims, he said.
"It is much more about protection of secrets than protection of assets," said SNAP's Clohessy.
Diocesan officials deny this and in October said bankruptcy protection was being sought as a financial necessity and to ensure equity among victims in a single, court-moderated process. Flynn said the diocese has fully cooperated with requests for documents from attorneys in bankruptcy court and has not sought to seal any priest files, except for medical records.
Contact Sean O'Sullivan at 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com
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