MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
Feb. 11, 2012
A federal lawsuit against the Vatican, filed in Milwaukee by an abuse victim of the late Father Lawrence Murphy, has been withdrawn, as a result of a key ruling in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy on Thursday, according to an attorney involved in both.
Jeffrey Anderson, who represents the plaintiff in both cases, said his client “felt that his energies would be best spent working alongside fellow survivors toward justice and healing at the archdiocese level.”
Vatican attorney Jeffrey Lena called the case a publicity stunt that “rehashes old theories already rejected by the U.S. courts” when it was filed in April 2010. He did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Saturday.
Anderson withdrew the lawsuit late Friday in response to Thursday’s ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley that let stand, at least for now, two claims filed by childhood sex abuse victims dating from the 1970s and ’80s. Kelley said the question of when the clock on the 6-year statute of limitations on the victims’ fraud allegations against the church should have started ticking must be answered at a trial.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.