MILWAUKEE (WI)
The Republic
By M.L. JOHNSON Associated Press
August 14, 2013
MILWAUKEE — Creditors for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee have asked a federal judge to set aside a key ruling in its bankruptcy case and step down because of what they say is a conflict of interest.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying pending sexual abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn’t pay. Its creditors include hundreds of people who were sexually abused by clergy and have accused the archdiocese of transferring predator priests to new churches without warning parishioners.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa ruled last month that more than $55 million is off-limits from those victims and other creditors because the money is in a cemetery trust fund protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom.
The cemetery fund has been a point of contention because victims’ lawyers see it as one of the few big pools of money that could potentially be available for settlements. The creditors’ committee said in documents filed Monday that Randa’s decision should be set aside because at least nine of his relatives, including his parents, are buried in cemeteries operated by the archdiocese.
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