Settlement talks between the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and 24 victims of clergy sex abuse appear to have failed, both sides said Thursday.The rest at JSOnline
Archbishop Jerome Listecki said in a letter posted on the archdiocese website that the victims' attorneys rejected a $4.6 million settlement offer.
Plaintiffs' attorney Jeff Anderson blasted that characterization as misleading, saying victims told the archdiocese that they would not discuss monetary terms until the archdiocese had addressed their non-monetary demands, including the release of all documents related to abuse.
"We told them from the start that our first priority was to address the child protection initiatives . . . and they did nothing to discuss those," said Anderson. [Then why are you funding an effort to remove the statute of limitations in these cases? ]
Jerry Topczewski, chief of staff for Listecki, said the church remains open to a resolution of the cases before trial.
"And we'll certainly continue our best to reach out to the victims, not just the ones now, but those who will come forward in the future," he said.
The settlement talks include 16 victims in civil fraud cases now pending in Milwaukee Circuit Court, and eight others who have come forward but not yet filed lawsuits. The victims accuse the archdiocese of defrauding them by moving offender priests from parish to parish without telling families of their abusive histories.
Both sides met before a Chicago mediator on Oct. 18 and Nov. 11.
Anderson said victims presented a 14-point list of non-monetary demands, including requirements that the archdiocese:
• Identify and publicly post the names of all offenders.
• Release all of their files on abusive priests.
• Require every priest and deacon in ministry to sign certified letters saying they have not molested children.
I have different thoughts if this involved criminal charges, but it doesn't. Civil suits are about money. Releasing all files on abusive priest exposes victims to unwanted and harmful publicity and it just happens to be a great way for Anderson to solicit new customers. I've said before, I'm all for laws that protect children and I'm all about bringing criminals to justice. These civil suits are not that. I do want to see victims cared for financially but you can see the drooling lawyer coming out here.
2 comments:
Yes, that "release ALL the records" is tell-tale.
And the requirement that 'all priests sign a paper swearing that they did NOT abuse kiddies' is another lawyer-honeypot.
Also of note that Listecki said most of his list of non-monetary demand were already met. Sounds like they are trying to sound a bit less like lawyers. Obviously they knew what the archdiocese is in compliance with right now so the whole thing is a stunt to find more folks to ride to payday.
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