MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Bruce Vielmetti and Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

In a blow to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in its ongoing bankruptcy, a federal appeals court on Monday put a $60 million cemetery trust fund back in play to potentially settle claims related to sexual abuse by priests.

The ruling from the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the church cannot use the First Amendment or a 1993 law aimed at protecting religious freedom to shield the funds.

The court also said the judge who put the money off limits, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa, should have disclosed the fact his parents and other relatives are buried in a cemetery maintained by the trust fund. The court remanded the case to a different district court judge.

The decision reinstated the lawsuit filed by the bankruptcy creditors committee to recover what was originally a…