http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20021201_208.html Report: Boston Church Mulls Bankruptcy Move
Dec. 1BOSTON (Reuters) - The Archdiocese of Boston is contemplating filing for bankruptcy protection to shield it from the estimated 450 clergy sexual abuse victims who have filed civil lawsuits against it, The Boston Globe reported on Sunday.
Such a move by the archdiocese, which has been at the epicenter of a pedophilia scandal rocking the Roman Catholic church for almost a year, would be without precedent in the United States, the paper said.
Citing a senior church official and two sources close to the archdiocese, the Globe said Boston Cardinal Bernard Law had discussed the matter but had yet to approve a bankruptcy filing.
Filing for bankruptcy protection in federal court would halt action in the civil lawsuits against the archdiocese, would prevent new lawsuits from being brought against the church while it reorganizes its finances and would combine the hundreds of plaintiffs into a single group, the paper said.
It would also amount to an admission by the church that it was negligent in handling priests accused of sexually abusing children, and that it is liable for the claims brought against it by alleged victims, the paper said, citing one of the church sources.
The report came as lawyers for alleged victims of Father Paul Shanley prepared to release to the public this week the archdiocese's personnel files of several priests accused of sexual misconduct with minors.
Last week, lawyers for the archdiocese and plaintiffs' attorneys met for 4-1/2 hours at a Boston hotel to try to discuss a possible settlement of the remaining claims against the church. However, the two sides apparently made little progress toward a deal.
The abuse scandal exploded earlier this year after files released in the case of an accused pedophile priest showed that Law and other church leaders knew about the man's behavior but instead chose to shuttle him from parish to parish.
Law has repeatedly apologized for his handling of alleged sexually abusive priests, but has refused to step down from his post.