The Catholic Cunning Strategy of Bankruptcy; Is it a Moral Solution?


It's hard to get arms around the huge and complex issue of priest abuse and the lawsuits that have resulted from it. The number of cases and sizes of settlements largely is known. But what happens after a Catholic unit declares bankruptcy is shrouded in mystery. Are these dioceses impoverished or do they remain wealthy?

From 1950 to the 2000's, over 4,000 priests were accused of sexual violation of children. Over 11,000 children were violated, mostly young boys. In most of this criminal activity, bishops merely covered up the crimes, moving priests around to prey again. A huge dam held back the information about these crimes until the first victims came forward. Then the dam broke with lawsuits everywhere. While huge amounts of payments have been made to victims, it appears there remain many unresolved issues and the entire saga will go on for some time to come.

In California 12 dioceses have filed for bankruptcy. In New York, five of eight dioceses have done so. The link attempts to tackle the question of whether filing for bankruptcy is a solution that is moral and just. Businesspeople say it certainly is the best business decision. It allows assets to be sold and contains rules as to how the assets are distributed to victims. For the church, which believes its continued existence is important, it can stay in business at least for the foreseeable future. This leaves unanswered whether is should be allowed to stay in business after committing what can only be called the most evil of crimes. 

The link discusses the difficulty of knowing the actual financial standing of some dioceses. We know from an experience right here in the Middlewest church assets are hidden by being parked in various places. Fr. Tim Dolan, formerly of the Milwaukee Diocese and since promoted to New York City, tried to hide Diocese assets from victims by putting them in a cemetery trust. He claimed the interest on the funds was needed to run the cemeteries. The cemetery board itself said it did not need those funds. A judge told Dolan to quite his dishonest portrayal of the cemetery and pay the victims as the court had ordered him to do. If there was a bishop this honest in a bland place like Milwaukee why would we not be suspicious of bishops everywhere? The suspicions were raised when Pope Benedict promoted Dolan as a reward for his underhanded monkey business. 

While it is apparent bankruptcy will be the tool of choice for many dioceses to avoid paying victims of child sexual abuse, it must be frustrating for victims to watch the church operate its expensive buildings and its bishops wear their exotic high hats while claiming it has no money. 





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