July 12, 2004
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Everytime I try writing it comes out in a condescending manner, so I'm going to quote something. This caught my is earlier in the month; so to quote the Times Herald Record on the-7th-
Archdiocese becomes first to seek bankruptcy
Portland, Ore.- The Portland Archdiocese said yesterday that it will fill for bankruptcy because it can't afford to pay the potential cost of sexual abuse lawsuits, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to seek such relief.
The chapter 11 bankruptcy action freezes the start of a priest abuse civil trail involving the late Rev.Maurice Grammond, who was accused of molesting more than 50 boys in the 1980s. Grammond died in 2002.
Plaintiffs in two lawsuits involving Grammond have sought a total of more than $160 million. The archdiocese and its insurers already have paid more than $53 million to settle more than 130 claims by people who say they were abused by priests.
Dozens of other claims are pending, and at yesterday's news conference, church officials aid that they could not afford what the plaintiffs are asking.
"The pot of gold is pretty much empty right now," said archbishop John VVlazny, who warned parishioners last year in a letter that the archdiocese might go bankrupt.
James Devereaux, one of the plaintiff sin the lawsuit that had been scheduled to go to trail yesterday, vowed that in spite of teh announcement, "We will continue our fight to finally get the archdiocese to accept the sin of its crimes."
David Slader, a plantiffs' attorney, said the church was simply trying to avoid the details of the lawsuit coming out in court. "The bishop hasn't begun to touch his pot. He is lying," Slader told reporters.
No other U.S. diocese has ever declared bankrupcy, according to Fred J. Naffziger, a buisness law professer at Indiana University.
Tom Stilley, the attorney handling the archdiocese's bankruptcy filing, also said it was the first such case, but added other dioceses are considering the same step.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy frees an orginization from the threat of creditors' lawsuits while it reorganizes. However, it could also open church records to public scrutiny, and could require church leaders to cede some control to courts.
End quote; the captions I'll have to figure later, but this is caption script Quote-
Norman Wicks Sr., right, who claims he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest as a child in Albany, N.Y., talks outside the Archdiocese of Portland yesterday as he and his son, Norman Wicks Jr., walk the sidewalk with a picket sign in Portland, Ore., while the archdiocese announced that it will file for bankruptcy.
Archdiocese of Portland Archbishop John Vlazny gestures yesterday as he answers questions during a press conference in Portland Ore. Vlazny announced that the Portland Archdiocese will file for Chapther 11 bankruptcy in the face of dozens of pending cases accusing Roman Catholic clergy of sexual abuse.
End quote.
Comments (2)
That is so sad. I went to one of the catholic churches in Portland yesterday and they were asking people to donate but I wasnt really listening. I guess thats what they were talking about.
I'm still in Portland, well came here from Seattle and was in London before that. Hmm, I see the logic in your thinking and it causes me to wonder if I truly am over him... I think I am.
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