MILWAUKEE (WI)
National Catholic Reporter
by Marie Rohde | Feb. 22, 2013
Milwaukee —
A handful of the sexual abuse survivors who filed claims against the Milwaukee archdiocese in federal bankruptcy court will go to trial as test cases to determine how many of the 574 who say they were assaulted are eligible for damages. To date, lawyers for the archdiocese have challenged more than 400 of the claims, saying they should be dismissed.
The decision came in a hearing that was the latest development in the 25-month bankruptcy case and occurred as the archdiocese warned it would run out of money to fully fund its operations by April.
In addition to the dispute over which victims would be eligible for damages, the church has become embroiled in an argument with lawyers for the claimants who say the church is hiding millions of dollars from the court.
In relation to the bankruptcy, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the former archbishop of Milwaukee, underwent a three-hour deposition Wednesday in New York. A judge could decide as early as April 4 a request made by lawyers for the claimants that his testimony be made public as well as earlier depositions of retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland and Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba.
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.