Judge orders transcript of Bishop Emeritus Clark deposition to be released

WHAM 13 ABC
June 25, 2020

https://13wham.com/news/local/judge-orders-transcript-of-bishop-emeritus-clark-deposition-to-be-released

A federal judge has ordered attorneys for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester to release the bankruptcy hearing deposition transcript of Bishop Emeritus Matthew Clark within ten days.

A federal judge has ordered attorneys involved in bankruptcy hearings for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester to release the bankruptcy hearing deposition transcript of Bishop Emeritus Matthew Clark within ten days.

The order by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Warren was filed on June 24. The Diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2019, less than one month after roughly 50 civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse at the hands of clergy were filed against them over New York's Child Victims Act.

Warren acknowledged that deposition transcripts are generally not filed on the docket, but said an exception will be made in this case "for the sake of transparency and for the sake of disclosure."

When bankruptcy hearings initially began, the court ruled the transcript was to be made available to the public 90 days after it had been delivered to the committee of creditors and the bishop. The deposition was held on March 3, meaning the transcript should have been released no later than June 1.

Counsel for the Diocese, the committee representing the unsecured creditors, and Clark need to agree to release on a decision. If they cannot provide the transcript in the next 10 days, a written explanation must be provided to Warren.

In September 2019, the diocese announced Clark had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The diagnosis was announced less than a month after lawsuits began to be filed under the Child Victims Act, and less than two weeks before the diocese declared it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

More than 100 lawsuits filed against the diocese under the CVA include allegations of abuse that would have happened during Clark’s tenure. According to previous court testimony, Clark retains cognitive function, however he no longer drives. Clark's attorney says he has trouble recalling past events and now suffers from language impairments.

Attorneys for CVA victims countered that, despite the announcement of his diagnosis in September, Clark accompanied Bishop Salvatore Matano on a trip to the Vatican in November.

All sex abuse claims against the Diocese of Rochester must be filed by August 13 at 11:59 p.m., according to a court order signed by a U.S. bankruptcy judge.