Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Force Bankruptcy of Wis. Archdiocese

On January 4, 2011, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced that they will be filing for bankruptcy because of debts that might be incurred - that they can't afford - from several pending sexual-abuse lawsuits, as reported by the San Francisco Gate.

One lawyer, Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., that has been responsible for many of the lawsuit filings, claims that the bankruptcy protection is just a delay tactic.   He further attested that the archdiocese is only seeking to keep their records from public viewing.

Archbishop Jerome Listecki said that in the past 20 years the Milwaukee archdiocese has paid $29 million in over 200 claims of alleged sexual abuse by priests.  He feels the bankruptcy allows the diocese to continue running while providing other victims with compensation.

Listecki said, "In my installation homily on Jan. 4, 2010, I spoke of the devastation of sin and its effect on us personally and as a community, we see the result of that sin today. This action is occurring because priest-perpetrators sexually abused minors, going against everything the church and the priesthood represents."

There have been seven other archdioceses that have filed for U.S. bankruptcy: Davenport, Iowa; Fairbanks, Alaska; Portland, Oregon; San Diego, California; Spokane, Washington; Tucson, Arizona; and Wilmington, Delaware.

Anderson has filed no less than 23 lawsuits against the Milwaukee archdiocese.  He claims that filing for bankruptcy, right before trials, or depositions, is just their way of avoiding the release of sensitive information.

Milwaukee Bishop Richard Sklba was scheduled for deposition on January 6.

Anderson further claimed that many of his clients had been pressuring the archdiocese to release both the names of the priests charged with sexual abuse, and the names of the church officials that had protected them.

In requests for personnel files, and other documents, the church had refused.

Jerry Topczewski, spokesman for the archdiocese, said that the archdiocese could not afford the legal bills alone if these cases went to court.

Per Topczewski, the archdiocese has $98.4 million in assets - but more than $90 million is held for either donor's specific use or is held under other restrictions.  Each of the 210 parishes, representing 640,000 members, will not be affected in a bankruptcy, as each are individual corporations. 

Topczewski said, "People should know this doesn't mean we're going out of business.  This is a way to reorganize, to make sure we can continue to operate on stable financial grounds and meet our obligations to those who were harmed."

He continued by stating that the archdiocese has done what it can to raise more funds.  He attested that since 2002, "We have sold property, liquidated savings and investments, eliminated ministries and services, cut archdiocesan staff by nearly 40 percent, and put all available real estate on the market in order to free up resources."

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