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	Delaware Crime: Diocese Won't Pay Benefits for Accused Priests By Maureen Milford The News Journal February 20, 2010 http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100220/NEWS01/2200322/Diocese-won-t-pay-benefits-for-accused-priests The bankrupt Catholic Diocese of Wilmington has reached an agreement with victims of clergy sexual abuse to withdraw a highly controversial request to provide about $10,000 a month in combined benefits to six removed priests accused of abuse. The matter had become "so divisive, time-consuming and costly" that it threatened to derail the purpose of the bankruptcy proceedings, which is to resolve the sex-abuse claims and fairly compensate the victims, the diocese said in a statement released Friday. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in October under the weight of civil lawsuits alleging clergy sexual abuse. The agreement comes just days before the start of a two-day hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware that promised to be hotly contested and widely followed. Bankruptcy lawyers said it was the first time a diocese in bankruptcy has asked permission from a federal court to provide benefits to priests accused of sexual abuse. A ruling by the judge could have been significant precedent, depending on how he decided, bankruptcy lawyers said. Survivors of clergy sexual abuse, who serve on the unsecured creditors committee, had strongly objected to the diocese's application filed in bankruptcy court in November, saying the abuser priests were not legally or morally entitled to benefits. What's more, there had been no efforts on the part of the diocese to reach out to the victims, the committee said. The abuse survivors said the diocese withdrew its application after it "realized it was going to lose," said James Stang, attorney for the unsecured creditors committee. "We certainly feel vindicated," he said. Thomas Neuberger, the lawyer for the unofficial committee of abuse survivors, called it a "crushing defeat for the diocese." Several weeks after seeking protection in bankruptcy court, the diocese filed a motion asking the judge for the ability to pay pensions, sustenance or medical benefits to retired or removed priests accused of sexual abuse. The money would have come from the diocese's bankruptcy estate or pool of assets.One of the defrocked priests, Francis DeLuca, admitted abusing so many boys in Delaware from 1962 to 1993 he couldn't remember them all, according to court records. In an April 2009 deposition, DeLuca said he molested boys after bingo games, on a trip to Italy and in the den of his living quarters. DeLuca has been accused of abuse in 20 of the 132 civil lawsuits against the diocese. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi had scheduled a two-day hearing on the issue that was set to begin Monday. But, as the hearing approached, the diocese and creditors' committee reached an agreement that called for the diocese to dismiss the motion. The order dismissing the motion was signed Friday by Sontchi. In its statement, the diocese said it had anticipated that the request for benefits to the abuser priests could be handled quickly. "But, instead, there has been extensive discovery, motion practice and briefing, at a cost far exceeding the value of the benefits at issue, with a trial and possible appeals still to come," the statement reads. The diocese said it hopes that withdrawing the motion will enable the parties to focus on hammering out a plan of reorganization that will "provide prompt compensation to the survivors." The creditors expressed similar hopes. "I am hopeful that this signals a new focus by the diocese on the victims and the importance of addressing victim claims over all others," said James Holman, an abuse victim and co-chairman of the creditors committee. Contact Maureen Milford at 324-2881 or mmilford@delawareonline.com
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