MILWAUKEE (WI)
CBS New York
MILWAUKEE (CBSNewYork/AP) – Former Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan sought and received permission from the Vatican to move $57 million from a cemetery fund into a trust to provide “improved protection” as the archdiocese prepared to file for bankruptcy amid dozens of claims by victims of clergy sex abuse, according to documents made public Monday.
Dolan’s 2007 letter, which he wrote while serving as archbishop in Milwaukee, and the Vatican’s response were included in thousands of pages of documents the archdiocese released as part of a deal reached in federal bankruptcy court between the archdiocese and clergy sex abuse victims suing it for fraud. Victims say the archdiocese transferred problem priests to new churches without warning parishioners and covered up priests’ crimes for decades.
EXTRA: Read Dolan’s Deposition (pdf) | Documents Released By Milwaukee Archdiocese
“Responding to victim-survivors, taking action against priest-abusers, and working to implement policies to protect children, were some of the most difficult, challenging, and moving events of the 6 ½ years that I served as Archbishop of Milwaukee,” Dolan said in a statement released Monday. “One of the principles that guided me during that time was the need for transparency and openness, which is why I not only welcomed the deposition as a chance to go on-the-record with how we responded to the clergy sexual abuse crisis during my years in Milwaukee, but also encouraged that it be released.”
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