Milwaukee Archdiocese Seeks Chapter 11, by Laurie Goodstein, New York Times, January 4, 2011

Milwaukee Archdiocese Seeks Chapter 11

By Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
January 4, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/us/05milwaukee.html?_r=1

Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki of Milwaukee at a news conference Tuesday in St. Francis, Wis.

But advocates for the victims say the church’s real motivation is to avoid disclosing information about priests accused of abuse and officials who covered it up.

The bankruptcy filing comes just before the deposition of an important church official, Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba, who until his recent retirement served alongside three successive archbishops of Milwaukee. A lawyer for Bishop Sklba was trying to have that deposition sealed.

Other officials expected to be deposed include the former archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy M. Dolan, now archbishop of New York. The bankruptcy filing will almost certainly delay the depositions, although they could eventually proceed.

Twenty-three alleged victims have sued or announced their intention to sue the archdiocese for fraud. Mediation sessions between the archdiocese and the victims’ lawyer, Jeffrey Anderson, who has handled hundreds of abuse lawsuits against the church, ended in a stalemate last month after just two meetings.

The victims had demanded that the archdiocese agree to 14 abuse prevention policies, the most contentious of which was releasing the names and personnel files of every priest accused of abuse. Mr. Anderson said some accused priests might still be in ministry.

But a church spokesman, Jerry Topczewski, said the archdiocese had already released the names of diocesan priests that had been judged by its independent review board to have been “credibly accused” — the standard used by most diocesan review boards.

The archdiocese offered the victims a settlement of $4.6 million, but Mr. Anderson said he would not discuss monetary compensation until the archdiocese met the victims’ demands for transparency.

With mediation at a stalemate, the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy to avoid spending more time and money on lawyers, Mr. Topczewski said. Another decisive factor was a court’s ruling in November that insurance companies were not bound to contribute to a financial settlement.

Milwaukee is the eighth American diocese, out of 194, to file for bankruptcy protection. The others are Davenport, Iowa; Fairbanks, Alaska; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; Spokane, Wash.; Tucson; and Wilmington, Del.

“This action is occurring,” Archbishop Listecki said in a letter to parishioners, “because priest-perpetrators sexually abused minors, going against everything the church and the priesthood represents. As a result, there are financial claims pending against the archdiocese that exceed our means.”