Bankruptcy Court: Milwaukee Archdiocese Cannot Sheild $60 Million from Sex Abuse Claimants

Cardinal Timothy "Porky Pig" Dolan

Longer term readers will recall that before filing bankruptcy in an effort to short change sex abuse claimants, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, then under the leadership of now New York Archbishop Timothy "Porky Pig" Dolan, shuffled $60 million dollars into a supposed cemetery fund.   The Church leadership may shed crocodile tears and claim remorse, but in every way possible the goal is (and always has been) to again abuse sex abuse victims by raping them over yet again, albeit not physically.  Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit concurred with the findings of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court overseeing the case ruled that the slight of hand orchestrated by "Porky Pig" Dolan and approved by Pope Benedict XVI, a/k/a, Pope Palpatine, would not be allowed to stand.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has details.  Here are highlights:

In a major blow to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in its ongoing bankruptcy, a federal appeals court on Monday put a $60 million cemetery trust fund back in play to settle claims related to sexual abuse by priests.

The ruling from the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also said the judge who put the money off limits, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa, should have disclosed the fact his own parents and other relatives are buried in a cemetery maintained by the fund. The court remanded the case to a different District Court judge.

The decision reinstated the lawsuit filed by the bankruptcy creditors committee to recover what was originally a $57 million transfer of money by then-Archbishop Timothy Dolan from the Archdiocese to a trust for the perpetual care of the church's cemeteries in 2007. The lawsuit claimed that the transfer of money was a fraudulent attempt to shield it in anticipation of a bankruptcy filing.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley ruled earlier on the side of the creditors, saying that taking at least a portion of the cemetery funds would not constitute a substantial burden on the church. The archdiocese appealed to U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa, who found that it would, saying Catholic cemeteries and their proper care play a central role in the Catholic belief in the resurrection of the body after death.

The 7th Circuit, in a decision written by Judge Ann Williams, disagreed. It found that including the money in the bankruptcy proceedings would not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the church's rights under the First Amendment. The court went out of its way to note that the ruling was not on the cemetery trust itself, the establishment of the Trust or the money in the Trust. Its effect was to clear the way for a future court decision on whether fraud occurred in moving archdiocesan money to the trust.

After the ruling was announced, James Stang, who represents the creditors' committee, said: "No longer can religious organizations shield cash and property under the ruse that it is important to their faith. Today's decision is critically important to survivors of sexual abuse by any religious entity."

Marci Hamilton, special First Amendment counsel to the Committee stated: "This is a win for survivors of sexual abuse, and for every person or private entity threatened with the federal (or a state) RFRA.

The Church leadership engaged in a coordinated criminal conspiracy to aid and abet predator priests and has done all it can to deprive sexual abuse victims of due compensation.  The Church needs to be forced to pay through the nose for its sins and, if it causes churches and dioceses to shut down, then too damn bad.   Meanwhile, I hope Dolan's fat lying ass is dragged back into court and forced to testify.