Minnesota Attorney Lawyer

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, Ore.. HAS been the first nation to include the protection of bankruptcy yesterday under the weight of complaints of sexual abuse, which costs more than $ 53 million in law.

Chapter 11 in the USA filing district court in Oregon, two civilians arrested studies scheduled to begin yesterday, where the alleged victims of Rev. Maurice Gram moon, a priest who died, have sought to approximately $ 160 million damages. More than 60 new requests for Gram Moon and other Portland area priests are under way, lawyers said.

“The pot of gold is pretty empty right now,” said Archbishop John G. Vlazny.

Several American dioceses have threatened to declare bankruptcy in similar circumstances over the past ten years, and the Archdiocese of Boston received conditional approval from the Vatican to ensure that the year 2002. But so far, each of these dioceses, including Boston, ruled in favour of negotiating settlements or its chances in court rather than opening to control their finances and the risk of their businesses back to a agent appointed justice bankruptcy.

Lawyers for alleged victims across the country have indicated that they were knocked down by the inscription on a temporary basis of the Archdiocese of creditor protection while it works, a plan of financial reorganization. Some fear that, perhaps a turning point in the scandal has rockten the church for 2 1 / 2 years.

“It is a threat, we have so many times before. We were all thinking it was hollow,” said Jeffrey R. Anderson, Minnesota, a lawyer, has more than 100 complaints against the church. “I think this is a strategic step by the bishops, nationally, to try and debt for the victims of their problems.”

In a letter to the Archdiocese of Portland’s 356000 Catholics, Vlazny portrait of the decision, as a severe reaction to the catastrophic situation on the ground. He said that the diocese had “worked assiduously for claims, but the” big insurer we have left and the bankruptcy law was the best way for archidiocèse’s parishes and schools are functioning, while the payment of claims.

“It is not effort to avoid responsibility. It is the only way I can assure that other claimants can be offered fair,” said the archbishop.

Lawyers for two men, whose cases were reported in early Back-to-back studies said yesterday, she believes that the archdiocese was afraid that information would have been before the courts.

“It is not about money,” said attorney David Slader, whose client, James Devereaux, says he has been usurped by the moon early Grammont at the age of 11 in 1963. “They did this because .. She knew that in the process, they would have a public venting, as they are crimes of their priests for more than 50 years. They know that the time can buy bankrupt in the courts and, I hope, from their point of view, the bankruptcy court to force a resolution some time with a trial. ”

Attorney Bill Barton said his client - identified only by the initials CB - was usurped at the age between 8 and 10 in 1984-85 at the end of a long chain of Gram victims of the moon and a long series of warnings and complaints that the archdiocese had ignored. “Testimony and evidence concerning the warnings, he said,” which in this case, dangerous for the archdiocese.

The lawyers said they received no notice of filing for protection from bankruptcy and had arrived at Multnomah County Circuit Court ready yesterday morning, before the courts. Instead, they found the archdiocese called a press conference, where a dark Vlazny, 67, read his mail and short answers to questions.

For an average diocese, Portland, an unusually large number of abuse claims. It includes more than 50 grams against the moon two years ago, died at the age of 82 years and more than 20 against Thomas Laughlin, a defrocked priest felt to live in New Mexico.

From May, 196 people had made allegations against 41 Portland priests, in the year 1950. The archdiocese has paid $ 26 million and its insurers have paid $ 27 million to settle 130 claims, said Bud Bunce, a spokesman for the archdiocese. This is the second total payments only after Boston, $ 85 million a subdivision with hundreds of alleged victims this year and sold its erzbischöfliche castle, which help the money.

Bunce’s the name of the Archdiocesan insurance companies, but said that some have refused to make any further payments. He also said the archdiocese to dismiss 20 people, a year ago and cut the operating budgets of all its divisions from 30 to 50 per cent this year.

Other dioceses, which belong to the public in bankruptcy, Stockton, California; Fall River, Massachusetts, Santa Fe, NM, and Tucson, who said they decide, there are two appeals before the courts will September. At the national level, the Church has over $ 572 million of settlements and advice on charges under more than 10,600 alleged victims against 4,392 priests since 1950, a church in the market survey released in February said.