550 Abuse Claims Filed Against Wis. Archdiocese

MILWAUKEE (AP) — About 550 people have filed claims for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — the most of the eight dioceses in the U.S. that have sought bankruptcy protection, a lawyer in the Milwaukee case said Wednesday.

James Stang, a bankruptcy lawyer who represents creditors in the Wisconsin case, estimated about 550 claims had been filed by the Wednesday afternoon deadline set by the court. The Milwaukee Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year, saying pending sex-abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn’t afford.

The archdiocese has paid more than $30 million in settlements and other court costs related to alleged clergy abuse. The archdiocese only had $4.6 million in assets to be applied to claims, archdiocese spokeswoman Julie Wolf said. The bankruptcy court will decide the final payout, she said.

A victim’s advocacy group called the number of filings “extraordinarily tragic,” but said that represented only a small portion of people abused by clergy.

“It’s sad and it just shows how devastating these crimes have been on this community but it’s obviously far from over,” said Peter Isely, the Midwest director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

The other seven Catholic dioceses in the U.S. that have filed for bankruptcy since the clergy abuse scandal erupted in 2002 in Boston are in Davenport, Iowa; Fairbanks, Alaska; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; Spokane, Wash.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Wilmington, Del. Two other religious orders have also filed for bankruptcy.

Of the seven other dioceses that also filed for bankruptcy, the number of claims ranged from about 40 to 250, Stang said. About 535 claimants had come forward against the Oregon Province of the Jesuits, he said.

Both Jeff Anderson, a lawyer who has filed more than 300 of the claims, and Wolf said it’s hard to compare the cases. Anderson said each diocese represents a different number of people. And Wolf said some dioceses are incorporated differently.

A Feb. 9 court hearing is set for a judge to consider a request from the Milwaukee Archdiocese to throw out some claims by people on grounds they were filed beyond the statute of limitations, they involved someone who was not an archdiocese employee or involve a victim involved in a prior settlement.

Wolf said she didn’t know how many of the claims would be included in the request.

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Associated Press writer Dinesh Ramde contributed to this report.