{"id":91789,"date":"2015-03-12T06:29:37","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T13:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=91789"},"modified":"2015-03-12T06:29:37","modified_gmt":"2015-03-12T13:29:37","slug":"some-bishops-are-attempting-to-claim-religious-liberty-as-an-excuse-for-screwing-abuse-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2015\/03\/some-bishops-are-attempting-to-claim-religious-liberty-as-an-excuse-for-screwing-abuse-victims.html","title":{"rendered":"Some Bishops are Attempting to Claim Religious Liberty as an Excuse for Screwing Abuse Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019m not making that up:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

The Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee sought to\u00a0insulate $55 million of its funds from lawsuits brought by victims of priestly sex abuse<\/a>, according to a letter penned by then-Archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy Dolan, so it transferred those funds into a separate trust set up to care for the archdiocese\u2019s cemeteries and mausoleums. Once the sexual abuse victims sought those funds in a bankruptcy proceeding, however, the archdiocese claimed that it had a religious liberty right not to use that money to compensate victims of abuse.<\/p>\n

Though a federal district judge agreed with the archdiocese that its religious freedom includes this right not to compensate victims in 2013, a bipartisan panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit\u00a0reversed that decision on Monday<\/a>. The Seventh Circuit noted that \u201cthe issue of whether the Archdiocese actually made a fraudulent, preferential or avoidable transfer is not before us,\u201d so it remains to be seen whether the abuse victims will be compensated out of the $55 million worth of funds. Nevertheless, the Seventh Circuit\u2019s decision means that the archdiocese will not be able to hide behind claims of religious liberty in order to avoid liability for the actions of its clergy \u2014 or, at least, it means as much so long as it is not reversed on appeal.<\/p>\n

At least\u00a045 Milwaukee priests face allegations of sexual abuse<\/a>, including one priest who was accused of\u00a0molesting close to 200 deaf boys<\/a>. The cemetery trust was created after the archdiocese agreed to a $17 million settlement involving ten victims who alleged that they were abused by priests in California, but the $55 million worth of funds were not transferred to that trust until after a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision which allowed other lawsuits by alleged victims of priestly abuse to move forward. Dolan, who is now a cardinal and the Archbishop of New York, wrote to the Vatican regarding the $55 million in funds that \u201c[b]y transferring these assets to the Trust, I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The cynicism is simply breathtaking. \u00a0And, in the \u201csin makes you stupid\u201d realities of life, it has the added bonus of completely gutting the Church\u2019s arguments about the important of religious liberty with respect to the HHS mandate and other real issues of conscience for Catholics. \u00a0Any non-Catholic looking at this appalling move is *bound* to conclude the pleas for religious liberty are simply legal shenanigans so that the Church can clutch its moolah without regard for justice.<\/p>\n

Thirteen\u00a0long years and these guys seem to be impervious to reality. \u00a0How long, O Lord?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not making that up: The Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee sought to\u00a0insulate $55 million of its funds from lawsuits brought by victims of priestly sex abuse, according to a letter penned by then-Archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy Dolan, so it transferred those funds into a separate trust set up to care for the archdiocese\u2019s cemeteries and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[209,48],"class_list":["post-91789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-sin-makes-you-stupid","tag-the-scandal"],"yoast_head":"\nSome Bishops are Attempting to Claim Religious Liberty as an Excuse for Screwing Abuse Victims<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm not making that up: The Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee sought to\u00a0insulate $55 million of its 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