Major Court Victory for Victim/survivors: Milwaukee Archdiocese Will Release Half Its Priest Offender Files July 1st

SNAP Wisconsin
April 4, 2013

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Major court victory for victim/survivors: Milwaukee Archdiocese will release half its priest offender files July 1st

Weakland, Sklba, Dolan depositions also to be released

But documents pertaining to only 45 priests are scheduled to be unsealed

At least half the offender documents from archdiocese: religious order clerics, employees, permanent deacons, volunteers and newly named offender or alleged offenders, still secret

Court anticipated to take up arguments on remaining offender names, documents in coming months

WHAT

Victim/survivors of childhood sexual assault by clergy, employees and volunteers of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, including the long time Milwaukee based Midwest Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPwisconsin.com/SNAPnetwork.org) will be joined by Fr. James Connell, pastor and former Vice-Chancellor of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, to:

–discuss the announcement by victims’ and church lawyers that the Archdiocese will release approximately half the priest offender files from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on July 1st and its importance for public safety,

–discuss the possible importance of the depositions also to be released of former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland, Bishop Richard Sklba, and current New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan,

–urge the release of all church child sex abuser files including documents and files related to religious order clerics, employees, permanent deacons,

–insist that the archdiocese disclose all legal costs related to preventing abuse document release.

WHEN

THURSDAY, April 4, 1:00 p.m.

WHERE

Front steps of the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse, 517 E Wisconsin Ave

WHY

After two years of legal battles to prevent any public release of documents and key depositions related to the sexual abuse of children by clergy of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, it has been filed late Wednesday in the Milwaukee Federal Bankruptcy Court a public notification that the church lawyers will cease their legal efforts to keep secret internal church documents pertaining to 45 Milwaukee clergy known to have assaulted children.

The announcement represents a major victory for the 570 victims who have filed cases into the Federal Bankruptcy Court.

The diocese has also agreed to no longer block the release of depositions taken by the court of former Archbishop Rembert Weakland, Bishop Richard Sklba, and current New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Dolan ran the Milwaukee Archdiocese from 2002 to 2010. Also to be released is a deposition of serial priest offender, Daniel Budzinski.

The 45 priests represent what is likely only half the known or alleged clergy, deacons, employees and volunteers who have assaulted children in the archdiocese.

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Over half the clerics working in the Milwaukee archdiocese belong to religious orders—such as the Jesuits, Capuchin Franciscans, Salvatorians and others—one of the highest such proportions of any diocese in the US. These clerics are assigned to the Milwaukee archdiocese with the permission and under the authority of the Archbishop, and staff many archdiocesan parishes, schools and ministries. For example, Fr. Bob Marsicek, removed last week by Archbishop Listecki from ministry and under a current police investigation, was assigned Pastor of Pius X parish in Wauwatosa, an archdiocesan parish staffed by the Salvatorian religious order.

The Salvatorian and many other Catholic religious orders have their national or international headquarters in Milwaukee, important because religious orders have historically moved known offenders from parishes and school into or through their headquarters.

The release also does not include the identities or results of the investigations required under church law of the at least 100 never before named alleged offenders contained in victim reports submitted to the Milwaukee Federal Bankruptcy Court. According to attorneys representing 350 of the 570 victim cases, of those 100 alleged offenders, 75 are clergy, many of them members of religious orders.

The depositions of Weakland and Sklba, who ran the archdiocese for over 25 years are expected to reveal key details in the cover up of child sex crimes by both men. This is the first known deposition taken of Sklba, who Weakland called in previous testimony his “go to guy” on “all abuse cases.”

Victims are hoping that Dolan’s deposition, although very short (under 3 hours) will answer three key questions: (1) his payouts to pedophile priests to quietly leave the priesthood, which he publically denied in 2007 but court documents now prove he had instituted as a secret policy since 2003 and his handling of offender priests like serial child molester Franklyn Becker, (2) his transfer of tens of millions of dollars off the books before the diocese declared bankruptcy, and (3) deceiving victims in a church-created “mediation” program as to the known history of the priests that sexually assaulted them so as to interfere with the filing of fraud cases.

Arguments related to the release of the remaining abuser documents and information is scheduled to be taken up by Federal Bankruptcy Judge Susan V Kelley in the coming months.

CONTACT:

Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director (414.429.7259 / peterisley@yahoo.com)

Mike Sneesby, SNAP Milwaukee Director (414.248.9541 / mikesnees@aol.com)

John Pilmaier, SNAP Wisconsin Director (414,336,8575 / pilmaier@milwpc.com)

Rev. James Connell can be reached at (414.940.8045 / connellj@archmil.org)

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 23 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Visit us at SnapWisconsin.com