BishopAccountability.org
	Friday Deadline Set for Abuse Claims against Archdiocese The Cutoff Date Is the Next Step in the Archdiocese of Portland's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Proceedings By Steve Woodward The Oregonian [Portland OR] April 26, 2005 Sexual-abuse plaintiffs and others who have claims against the Archdiocese of Portland have until 5 p.m. Friday to file claims paperwork or forever lose their opportunity. The filing deadline is the next step in the archdiocese's nearly 10-month-old Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Mandatory mediation of abuse claims will begin Aug. 8. The bankruptcy was triggered last summer, as sex-abuse lawsuits totaling $434 million in damages piled up against the archdiocese. The largest lawsuit, which asked for $135 million for abuse allegedly perpetrated by the late Rev. Maurice Grammond, was set for jury trial July 6, the day the church filed for protection from creditors. Those with claims against the archdiocese may include, among others: Those who had sexual contact while younger than 18 with a Catholic priest, employee, volunteer or other person working for the archdiocese, or a Catholic parish or school served by the archdiocese. Those who think the archdiocese caused them harm at any age. Those to whom the archdiocese owes money. Claimants should contact the BMC Group, a neutral third party in El Segundo, Calif., at 1-888-909-0100. BMC also can arrange for callers to speak with counselors. More information is available on BMC's Web site, www.bmcgroup.com/archdpdx. The archdiocese does not have a count of the number of claims filed, said Bud Bunce, archdiocese spokesman. The claims presumably will include plaintiffs in the 47 cases in which the archdiocese is named as a defendant. Those cases are frozen by the church's bankruptcy. Various filings in the case indicate the number of claimants alleging abuse by priests and other archdiocesan employees could top 90. The claims also include those by future claimants who haven't been identified. David Foraker, the court-appointed future claims representative in the bankruptcy case, said Monday he filed a claim several weeks ago on behalf of his constituency. Foraker said his filing did not specify the number of claimants or the amount of their claims. Foraker represents three classes of claimants: children whose parents or guardians haven't filed claims on their behalf, people suffering from repressed memory syndrome and therefore can't remember the abuse, and people who haven't figured out the connection between their childhood sexual abuse and adult problems, such as gambling addiction or the inability to maintain relationships. The archdiocese originally proposed a claims deadline of Dec. 31, 2004. Last week, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris rejected a motion by parishes and parishioners in the archdiocese to extend the deadline.