The trust created by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 2007 to fund burials and maintain its Catholic cemeteries filed a lawsuit this week in an effort to keep the estimated $53 million in the account from being used to pay creditors in its bankruptcy.MJS
Archbishop Jerome Listecki, who serves as the lone trustee for the fund, said he has a moral and legal obligation to ensure the money is used for its intended purpose.
"It is important to have a clear decision from the bankruptcy court regarding the ongoing perpetual care of burial places," he said in a statement issued by the law firm Godfrey & Kahn, which represents the trust.
An attorney for the creditors committee said he was surprised by the Tuesday filing, which came a week after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley gave creditors the go-ahead to hire a forensic accountant to review the archdiocese's financials.
They have questioned whether certain transactions, including the movement of $55 million from an archdiocese cemetery account to a cemetery trust, were intended to shield assets from sex abuse victims in the event that the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy.
"I don't know what tactical advantage they hope to see by filing the complaint," said local creditors committee counsel Al Solochek. "The court will give us ample time to analyze the information."
Archdiocese cemetery trust sues to protect funds in bankruptcy case
Why did I get a mental image of the crypt keeper in court...
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3 comments:
The implicit and explicit commitment to the people buried in the cemetery, that it will be maintained in perpetuity, should have standing independent of the officers of the church. What did those dead people do to offend the victims?
That's true, and it's most likely that the court would eventually see it that way, with or without the 'forensic audit'.
I find it odd that this step was taken. Seems quite premature to me.
Although there may be legitimate questions, generally, at some level, about the wealth of the church as an institution, I have a sense that the victims, and their lawyers, especially their lawyers, are more interested in draining anything they can identify as "church-related," partly to wreak vengeance, and partly because the lawyers expect to make a lot of money -- plus they run up huge expense bills pursuing this.
There is little consideration that what exists in local parishes was mostly contributed at some personal cost by parishioners to sustain a local church, and it is those parishioners who will have to cough up the money to replace what is taken away.
I used to drive a paratransit bus, and occasionally dropped off or picked up people after some overnight even at the Archbishop Cousins Center. It's kind of sad to see it sitting empty, while priests take up space in an apartment building that now can house fewer elderly and disabled. Its been on the market for years, but who needs a complex like that, except a church with substantial membership in the area?
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