By Sean O'Sullivan
News Journal
April 6, 2011
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110406/NEWS01/104060344/Bishop-s-memo-says-cuts-services-layoffs-way?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cp
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| John Vai (from left), Felix Flanigan, Pat Nagle, Thomas Neuberger, Mary Dougherty and Bill Heaney discuss the agreement. |
WILMINGTON -- Layoffs and reductions in some church services and ministries will be coming later this year as a result of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's proposed $77.4 million settlement with survivors of priest sexual abuse, according to a memo from Bishop W. Francis Malooly being circulated to employees this week.
Diocesan officials confirmed the memo was issued but declined to answer questions about specifics -- like how many of the approximately 190 diocesan employees may be let go or what services will be suspended or reduced. The memo states that the layoffs will take place July 1, but officials said employees will likely be notified if they are on the list this week.
Diocesan spokesman Robert Krebs said the two-page memo, dated April 4, had not yet been circulated to all employees, and the diocese would not be making any statement on the cutbacks until Friday at the earliest, "after we get a chance to talk to everyone."
Krebs said the reductions would not affect parishes or Catholic schools. Krebs said the diocese remains committed to protecting its educational, charitable and spiritual activities, as the bishop said in February.
"And most of that happens on the parish level," Krebs said, adding the cutbacks are all focused on the diocesan level.
In September, the diocese reported it had about 65 employees plus 125 affiliated employees working for charities, schools and the diocesan newspaper.
In Monday's memo, Malooly said the $77.4 million settlement -- which has not yet been formally submitted to or accepted by U.S. Bankruptcy Court -- will "significantly" reduce the diocese's ability "to continue to operate diocesan ministries at current levels."
As a result, the bishop wrote that across-the-board reductions of "25 percent or more" were needed over the current year's budget.
"This, unfortunately, will cause us to initiate a series of layoffs, a most unfortunate circumstance.
"We have done our best to preserve most of the services our offices and ministries provide, even at reduced rates. Unfortunately, some services will have to be discontinued for a while," Malooly wrote, without providing specifics.
Attorney Thomas S. Neuberger, whose law firm is representing a majority of 150 plaintiffs who have outstanding legal claims against the diocese, charged the memo was disinformation by the diocese and part of an ongoing effort by some to vilify those who were victimized by pedophile priests.
"Stop blaming child rape survivors for your economic problems. Everyone's pocketbook is empty, not just yours," Neuberger said. "The real reason is that people have stopped giving to that church because they are unemployed. The economy is still dead in the water due to the Great Recession."
Neuberger also accused the diocese of improperly blaming the victims for the decision earlier this year to close St. Paul Elementary School, even though the school had been struggling financially for years and was only being kept open with a $400,000 yearly subsidy from a foundation operated by the diocese.
The Rev. John Hynes, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena near Prices Corner, said he knew the settlement announced in February would have an effect but said he was still surprised by what appears to be the large scale of the cutbacks.
"I feel badly about it," he said. "It's not like the diocese had any fat."
The Rev. Norman Carroll, pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish in Wilmington, who had not yet seen the memo Tuesday, agreed with Hynes, saying he believed the diocese is "already stretched thin."
This will certainly be a hardship on the people whose jobs are affected, Hynes said, adding many who work for the diocese do so as a matter of faith and earn only modest wages.
The general outlines of the multimillion-dollar settlement were announced by attorneys representing the diocese in January in the wake of an unexpected $3 million jury verdict against St. Elizabeth in a lawsuit brought by John Vai, who said he was repeatedly molested by the Rev. Francis DeLuca in the late 1960s. DeLuca, who has since been defrocked, admitted abusing Vai.
In January, diocese attorney Anthony Flynn said the settlement would place "a serious burden on the current ministries of the diocese" but day-to-day operations would remain largely unchanged, with Mass continuing at churches every week and Catholic schools opening every school day.
Previously, the only specific cutbacks diocese officials have announced -- beyond the closing of St. Paul Elementary -- had been the potential sale of the bishop's residence and diocesan offices in Wilmington and the liquidation of the Catholic Diocese Foundation, a fund founded 80 years ago by John J. Raskob.
Malooly's memo outlines the expected timeline for the "global" resolution of all pending lawsuits against the diocese and bankruptcy proceedings. Malooly said the final plan of reorganization has been reviewed by attorneys representing victims and that the diocese hopes to submit it to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court by April 15 with the support of all parties.
If the court approves the plan, Malooly wrote, he expects a vote by the church's creditors -- who include the plaintiffs in priest abuse suits and the diocese's lay pensioners -- in May.
"If the schedule remains on track, we look to final confirmation sometime in June," he wrote.
But while attorneys for the victims and the diocese came to an agreement in February, the diocese's pensioners, who are known as "The Official Committee of Lay Employees of the Catholic Diocese," have not yet agreed to the plan.
The attorney representing lay pensioners, Donald J. Detweiler, said Tuesday he had not heard about the layoffs and felt the diocese had not been communicating well with the parties.
"Despite the statements in the bishop's letter, the diocese has yet to settle, let alone address, the concerns of the Lay Employees Committee," Detweiler said in an email. "Absent a consensual resolution of the lay employees' issues, the bankruptcy case is likely to linger on for some time. The bottom line is the diocese has resolved the abuse claims, and it is past the time for the diocese to resolve the claims of the lay employees, which are far from settled or resolved."
Employees have been concerned about the diocese's properly funding pensions, and Detweiler said employees who are laid off may not be entitled to receive unemployment benefits because the diocese is not obligated to provide such support.
Contact: sosullivan@delawareonline.com
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