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	Bankruptcy Filing Could Hurt Tithing, Priests Fear By Alan Hamari Brookfield Now January 12, 2011 http://www.brookfieldnow.com/news/113351329.html The Rev. Ken Knippel wasn't surprised when the Milwaukee Archdiocese announced last week it was filing for bankruptcy protection. "I'm pretty certain no one's shocked by this news because we heard that there were financial difficulties," said Knippel, the pastor at St. John Vianney parish in Brookfield. It's the reason for the filing - ongoing expenses associated with clergy sex abuse claims - that has Knippel troubled. "It's not really about the parish or about the good work that we're doing," he said. "It's about a very unfortunate situation from years back that we're still paying the price for and trying to manage the best we can." Archbishop Jerome Listecki has said that parishes and schools will not be affected by the bankruptcy filing because they are separately incorporated entities, but Knippel fears parishes will be affected in another way. "We get concerned about people being very negative about this and then withdrawing giving," he said. "We don't want that to happen." "People react with their checkbooks." The Rev. Peter Drenzek at Wauwatosa's St. Bernard Parish also said he wasn't surprised by the archdiocese's decision - "It could have come yesterday or tomorrow," he said last week. He, too, thinks some parishioners will react to the news by withholding funds. Knippel said last week that he has heard "remarkably little" from parishioners about the announcement, but that was before a recorded message from Listecki about the decision to file for financial reorganization was played at most weekend Masses. St. John Vianney has included information about the bankruptcy filing and related issues in its weekly bulletins and on its website. "I want people to have information," Knippel said. St. John Vianney also will offer a prayer service for survivors of clergy sexual abuse at the church in March. Knippel said it's "just an attempt to reach out" to victims who are still hurting. The bankruptcy is "a humbling experience" for the church, Drenzek said, but one he expects Catholics will recover from in time. "Somehow out of this I have to think some truth and goodness will come, but there may be some pain before we get there," he said. Knippel agreed. "We face reality, and we go on," he said. "Hopefully, it'll be to the betterment of mission and service."
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