Wednesday, February 6, 2008

January 2008 Information - Questions and Answers

These were part of the recent Archdiocesan document dump on Clergy Sexual Abuse cases (see this earlier post). I have selected some for translation.
Q: Why share this information?
A: The information will be part of a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and will be released to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. ...

Q: So, are you sharing this now only because of these lawsuits?
A: No. ...

Translation: Yes, see answer to first question.
Q: Is this the worst of the news?
A: ... We do not make judgments on what is “better” or “worse.”

Translation: No!
...

Q: What is the financial impact of these lawsuits?
A: ...It is too early to tell what, if any, financial impact these lawsuits will have. ...

Translation: Unspeakably bad. That "if any" is just our little joke to ease the tension.
Q: What about Legislation to open the statute of limitations?
A: ...Removing the statute of limitations would simply make it more attractive to sue the Catholic Church, and would do nothing to punish the offenders themselves.

Translation: Why do they keep beating us with these clubs we hand out?
Q: Why aren’t priests who have sexually abused children in jail?
A: The archdiocese would fully cooperate with law enforcement officials if they moved to put a know [sic] abuser in jail. ...

Translation: Our Hands Are Tied.
Q: Recently you announced a capital campaign – how does this affect that campaign?
A: The Faith in Our Future Trust has been legally established to ensure that the intent and conditions of donors are followed and respected. ...

Translation: Remember when Archbishop Weakland wrote to Paul Marcoux in 1980 and said ""I consider all that church money as a sacred trust; it represents the offerings of faithful and I must be accountable to them for how it is all spent." Remember how our Archdiocese later paid Mr. Marcoux $450,000? Remember how Bishop Sklba and the then financial officer okayed that payment? Well, forget all that, this time everything is completely different.
Q: If you suspect that priests are guilty, why are you defending lawsuits? Why don’t you just settle with the victims?
A: Resolution has been reached with 170 individuals – the majority through the independent mediation system. ...

Translation: We set up the "independent" mediation system. If it was up to us, we could only be sued in "independent" courts that we set up.
Q: That’s great, but why defend lawsuits?
A: For people who have chosen to sue, that is a decision they have made. ...

Translation: Our Hands Are Tied.
Q: I thought victims/survivors could not sue the Church in Wisconsin.
A: ... Victims/survivors have always had the right to sue the Church. However, just like with any civil action, the window for suing the Church has been governed by a statute of limitations. ...

Translation: We misunderstood our own made-up question about immunity under Pritzlaff v. Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 194 Wis. 2d 302, 533 N.W.2d 780 (1995).
Q: What about Becker?
A: ...Because Becker is laicized, the archdiocese has no influence over where Becker lives as an independent citizen. ...

Translation: For some unknown reasons, we don't seem to have the influence over lay Catholics we once did.
...

2 comments:

  1. That all sounds pretty right on. I would change the translation concerning why abusers are not in jail though. Bishops have (according to Vatican documents) a special father/son relationship with priests that means that they should try to protect them in every scenario to the fullest extent - even when that means bad news for the rest of the Church (and any children at large).

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  2. That might help explain why lay staff who embezzle aren't quietly sent off for therapy and then reassigned to a new parish.

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