By Annysa Johnson
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
June 29, 2011
http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/124737104.html
 |
| The Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which faces more than a dozen civil fraud lawsuits over its handling of clergy sex abuse cases, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. As the case proceeds, we'll have updates, analysis, documents and more. |
The trust created by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 2007 to fund burials and maintain its Catholic cemeteries filed a lawsuit this week in an effort to keep the estimated $53 million in the account from being used to pay creditors in its bankruptcy.
Archbishop Jerome Listecki, who serves as the lone trustee for the fund, said he has a moral and legal obligation to ensure the money is used for its intended purpose.
"It is important to have a clear decision from the bankruptcy court regarding the ongoing perpetual care of burial places," he said in a statement issued by the law firm Godfrey & Kahn, which represents the trust.
An attorney for the creditors committee said he was surprised by the Tuesday filing, which came a week after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley gave creditors the go-ahead to hire a forensic accountant to review the archdiocese's financials.
They have questioned whether certain transactions, including the movement of $55 million from an archdiocese cemetery account to a cemetery trust, were intended to shield assets from sex abuse victims in the event that the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy.
"I don't know what tactical advantage they hope to see by filing the complaint," said local creditors committee counsel Al Solochek. "The court will give us ample time to analyze the information."
The statement issued by the trust's firm said the creditors committee would have about 30 days to file its response.
The archdiocese operates eight cemeteries covering 1,000 acres and holding more than 500,000 remains, and 3,000 new burials occur each year, according to the lawsuit.
A portion of each cemetery payment - 50% of burial plots and $100 for crypts - is paid into the trust for perpetual care of the grave site and cemetery. The trust, which is held at U.S. Bank, pays the archdiocese for cemetery expenses quarterly, the lawsuit says.
In addition to the cemetery trust, the forensic accountant is expected to focus primarily on two other areas: the creation of the Faith in Our Future Fund to hold proceeds from a $105 million capital campaign launched by the archdiocese in 2007; and the transfer of $75 million in a parish investment fund off the archdiocese's books sometime after 2004.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.