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	Archdiocese to Cut off Funds to 9 Priests Accused of Abuse By Annysa Johnson Milwaukee Journal Sentinel September 17, 2010 http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/103105084.html The Archdiocese of Milwaukee said Thursday that it will cut off financial subsidies beginning Oct. 1 to nine priests found to have credible allegations of sexual abuse against them, a move expected to save the archdiocese at least $90,000 a year. Archbishop Jerome Listecki said Thursday that the subsidies for basic living expenses, in place for at least one priest since 2002, were never meant to be permanent. "My reading of canon law is that these were meant to cover a period of transition, it didn't mean the rest of their lives," he said. Victims advocates voiced outrage that the church was continuing to support abuser priests. "These nine would have been immediately fired in any other job once their employer had determined they had raped and assaulted children," said John Pilmaier, co-director of the Midwest chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. The archdiocese is not naming the priests, who were notified by letter in recent weeks. It said all of the nine are in the process of being laicized, which can take years in the Vatican legal system, or have been ordered to spend the rest of their lives in prayer and penance, a punishment usually reserved for older or infirm clergy. At least four men are above retirement age and eligible for Medicare and Social Security benefits, according to Jerry Topczewski, chief of staff for Listecki. The remainder either have found or should have found secular employment by now, he said. Topczewski said the archdiocese had been considering ending the subsidies for several years. "Considering the challenges the archdiocese is facing, this is another way to eliminate costs," he said.
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