BishopAccountability.org
	Pursued by St. Paul Attorney, Milwaukee Archdiocese Files for Bankruptcy Protection By Boyd Huppert Kare January 5, 2011 http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=898299&catid=391 MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist has stood like a rock in Milwaukee for 150 years. But based on an announcement made Tuesday, its financial foundation is shaking. The Archdiocese is filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Jerome Listecki, the archbishop of Milwaukee, said the Archdiocese that is home to more than 160,000 Catholics can no longer remain solvent as it pays its obligations to clergy sex abuse victims. "Over the past 20 years we have spent more than 29 million dollars to cover costs associated with the tragedy," said Listecki. "Since 2002 we have sold property, liquidated savings and investments, eliminated ministries and services, cut archdiocesan staff by nearly 40 percent and put all available real estate on the market in order to free up resources." Still, Listecki said the inability to mediate a settlement with even more victims left the archdiocese no choice but to seek bankruptcy protection. "There are financial claims against the archdiocese that exceed our means." St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson isn't buying it. "What they're doing and what they've been doing is hiding from the truth." Anderson represents 23 clients suing the Milwaukee archdiocese for alleged abuse by half-a-dozen priests, including the late Lawrence Murphy who is accused of molested boys at a school for deaf students in suburban Milwaukee. Anderson says he had a deposition in the case scheduled with a Milwaukee bishop this Thursday. "This filing puts everything at a halt temporarily until the bankruptcy court can take over and scrutinize this." Wisconsin now joins seven other states where Catholic leaders have chosen bankruptcy in the face of mounting sex abuse lawsuits. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says Catholics in the Twin Cities have no reason to fear bankruptcy. Dennis McGrath said the archdiocese has not paid a large claim in several years and just finished a "good strong year with investment increases and control of expenses." Listecki put blame for the bankruptcy squarely on the perpetrators. "We are here because of one reason," he said. "Priests sexually abused minors." But Anderson said the archbishop neglected to blame others, even more responsible for the pattern of abuse. "The reality is the responsibility lies with those that made the decisions to allow the priests to continue in ministry after they knew they were offenders." He says he will continue to pursue the Milwaukee Archdiocese on behalf of his clients, though his focus will now shift to bankruptcy court.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.