Re abuse cases, has the Catholic Church changed? No.

by blondie 5 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  blondie

  Attorney: Clergy abuse victims shut out of deal

  Attorney for clergy abuse victims unhappy with Milwaukee archdiocese settlement with insurer

  Published On: Nov 12 2013 02:32:47 PM CST

  MILWAUKEE -

  An attorney representing clergy sexual abuse victims says his clients were shut out of negotiations between the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and one of its major insurers.

  The archdiocese faces claims in federal bankruptcy court from hundreds of sexual abuse victims who have accused it of transferring abusive priests to new churches and covering up their crimes.

  The archdiocese said in court documents filed Monday that it has reached a settlement with Lloyd's, of London, which issued policies during the 1960s and 1970s, when much of the abuse occurred.

  Attorney Mike Finnegan says he had no involvement in those negotiations and fears the deal will benefit the archdiocese and Lloyd's, but not the abuse victims Finnegan represents.

  • Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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  jgnat

  Sorry to hear that. One would hope Big Organization would learn from experience.
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  jgnat

  This reminds me of a minor incident when I was a teenager. Our family was moving across country and the household contents in the moving van caught fire. It was over a month before the moving company confessed to what happened. And when my dad was invited along to supervise the damage, the agent and the company owner breezed through the job. Dad piped up once in a while; opened a box and found a sewing machine instead of "clothing". We were able to salvage some furniture items, after painting over the smoke.

  Dad can't have helped but feel like a bit player. Is this right?
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  blondie

  The Church's apologies aren't worth the toilet paper there on.
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  jgnat

  I like the Jewish concept of repentance, which always includes restoration.

  http://ciunow.org/insights/repentance-reconciliation/
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  Band on the Run

  I don't understand how you can evaluate whether the Roman Catholic Church is changing based on a single incident in one particular state. The church is so vast. I see signs of improvement. We don't know how heavily the Vatican is involved or at what level this poor decision was made. The article does not reference it. Changing an institution takes time and dedicated passion by a lot of people. There will be ebbs and flows.

  Frankly, I don't know enough. I do know that is certain that the lawyers who represented the Roman Catholic Church in earlier years employed a scorched earth approach to protect the church. They went far beyond zealously representing their client into the wacko zone. The result was a public relations nightmare for the church. I know my sister is Roman Catholic. Many parishoners wanted to stay in the church but were sick at its conduct. They sent a message by stopping all pledging for official diocesan programs. Individual outside charities were chosen. The diocese received the message.

  I don't know b/c I am not active on a daily basis the way a church reporter covering a sex abuse beat would be. Perhaps the insurer will be shamed in the court of public opinion. A scorched earth policy towards litigants is never wise, esp. in such cases.