MISSOURI
KMBC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese is not considering bankruptcy, despite having paid millions of dollars for legal fees and settlements in sexual abuse cases involving priests in recent years, a diocese spokesman said.
The diocese has paid $6 million in settlements on sex abuse cases since May, as well as $7 million on legal fees for sex abuse cases in the last two fiscal years. And it still faces more than two dozen sexual abuse lawsuits and a breach-of-contract case filed by plaintiffs who settled with the diocese for $10 million in 2008, The Kansas City Star reported.
Those costs have raised concerns about possible bankruptcy among parishioners, including a group that has petitioned Pope Francis to remove Bishop Robert Finn for his handling of the sexual abuse allegations.
“Among the active and retired clergy, there is a genuine and sincere concern of diocesan bankruptcy,” said Jeff Weis, a Kansas City Catholic who started a petition drive seeking Finn’s removal. “There’s a fear that this diocese is being driven into the ground financially.”
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