“Today, Archbishop Jerome Listecki said the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to fairly compensate victims/survivors of priest-predators and to allow the archdiocese to continue to meet the needs of parishes and parishioners.
“Incredibly, the Archbishop’s announcement left out the most important reason they filed for bankruptcy: To delay the legal process so they don’t have to reveal the names of the “priest-predators” and the Church officials who covered up the “priest-predators’” crimes. It is interesting that this action comes on the precipice of the taking of depositions of Church leaders who have the most to hide.
“My office represents all 23 of the cases against the Milwaukee Diocese and in the mediation the number one priority was getting the Archdiocese to open their files. The survivors’ first priority is always to protect children and you do that by publicly identifying the priest-predators and the officials that allowed them sexually molest children and cover it up.
“This same act played out in other areas of the country where we represented victims against the Catholic Church but in the end it won’t work—they can run but they can’t hide forever.”
Contact Jeff Anderson: 651.227.9990