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	Archdiocese Gets until Feb. 7 to File Financial Data By Annysa Johnson Milwaukee Journal Sentinel January 5, 2011 http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/112984739.html The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has until Feb. 7 to file financial statements required as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley granted the archdiocese's request for a 20-day extension to file its schedule of assets and liabilities and its statement of financial affairs, which together provide a snapshot of the archdiocese's financial position at the time of the bankruptcy filing. The archdiocese, which faces more than a dozen lawsuits over its handling of clergy sex abuse cases, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, saying it was necessary to fairly compensate victims and to continue the "essential ministries" of the church. The request for the delay was among a number of motions that were filed by the archdiocese and approved by Kelley at a hearing Wednesday. Most addressed administrative measures meant to provide continuity of operation before and after the bankruptcy filing. The rulings allow the archdiocese to continue to pay its employees, maintain its health insurance premiums and bank accounts during the transition into bankruptcy, and ease its handling of the bankruptcy notice and filing requirements. Attorneys for the victims did not object to the motions. However, Kelley cut off one attorney who, while questioning the archdiocese's chief financial officer, tried to lay the foundation for an argument that parishes are run by the archdiocese. The line of questioning by attorney Jim Stang appeared to be in response to the archdiocese's assertion Tuesday that the assets of parishes and schools cannot be tapped to pay creditors because they are separately incorporated. "We're here on paying the employees . . . on hiring a noticing agent and maintain the same bank accounts," Kelley told Stang, who questioned CFO John Marek via telephone from Los Angeles. The archdiocese faces claims from at least 24 men and women who were molested as children. Settlement talks collapsed late last year after the archdiocese offered $4.6 million but failed to address victims' non-monetary demands, such as the release of documents.
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