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Oregon Catholic sex abuse cases head to court

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 18:58 CST

By Teresa Carson

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A federal bankruptcy judge sent a group of priest sex abuse cases back to court on Wednesday for trial or settlement after an 18-month delay because of the Portland Catholic archdiocese's bankruptcy proceedings.

"I really hope we can move forward," federal bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris told the packed courtroom.

Facing huge financial claims from scores of priest sex abuse lawsuits, the Portland archdiocese became the first in the nation to file for bankruptcy in July 2004.

The archdioceses of Spokane, Washington and Tuscon, Arizona have since made similar filings as other Catholic archdiocese around the nation have scrambled to pay claims. In Boston the archdiocese has sold 60 churches and schools.

In Portland, all the cases of alleged abuse of children by priests have been frozen while lawyers wrangled over various issues in the bankruptcy case. The bankruptcy and sexual abuse cases are intertwined because the amount of potential claims from abuse victims is a key factor in determining the archdiocese's liabilities.

"This has been a tug-of-war between extreme positions," Perris said in her tentative ruling on Wednesday.

Perris is sending some of the cases to federal courts and some to state courts, depending on what the abuse survivors are seeking. The bankruptcy court had tried to settle the claims through mediation, but that was largely unsuccessful.

"We've been on a ship for 18 months that hasn't left port," David Slader, an attorney for 12 people who allege they were sexually abused, told the judge.

The Portland cases have dragged on over several key issues, including determining the assets of the church.

The archdiocese, which serves about 350,000 Catholics in western Oregon, had argued that it did not control the parish assets such as churches, schools and other parish property.

But Judge Perris disagreed and ruled in late December that the archdiocese does control the assets of the parishes and these assets could be used to settle the sex abuse claims.

There are about 150 sex abuse cases yet to be resolved in the Portland archdiocese.

$50 MILLION IN SETTLEMENTS

The archdiocese has paid out more than $50 million in settlements in the last five decades. The archdiocese has about $100 million in various investments and accounts that could be tapped to pay any claims.

The first cases will likely be tried in a matter of months, Slader said. Some of them will likely settle out of court.

"Today's ruling at least provides for an orderly way to handle the trials in these cases," archdiocese spokesman Bud Bunce said. But he added that the church feels its resources are better spent on the bankruptcy reorganization plan and settlements rather than trials.

Earlier this week, William Levada, former archbishop of Portland and now a top Vatican official, was grilled for seven hours behind closed doors.

An attorney said the sex abuse victims were trying to find out how much the former head priest in Portland knew about the abuse. Victims charge that the church did not remove the abusive priests and left them in positions that allowed them to continue to abuse victims sexually.

Source: REUTERS

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