New clergy abuse cases surface in Milwaukee

Dozens of people have come forward since the Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy protection last month alleging they were sexually abused by priests as children, attorneys for victims said Thursday.

Among the accused are priests not previously identified publicly as offenders, according to victims' lawyers and the archdiocese, including one retired cleric who is now restricted from ministry pending an investigation by the church.

The new complaints mark the beginning of what is expected to be an expansion of the creditors pool - individuals and organizations that would be paid as part of any bankruptcy settlement.

Such expansions are typical in Chapter 11 proceedings, which serve in most cases as a "last call" for claims against a debtor.

While it's impossible to predict the final size of the pool, six of the seven previous bankruptcies by Catholic Church dioceses involved settlements with 140 to 300 claimants.

Jeff Anderson, the St. Paul, Minn., attorney representing local victims, said he expects Milwaukee to be no different.

"When I look at the size of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the numbers of offenders who have been given cover . . . I have no doubt that the number of survivors is in the thousands," Anderson said. "How many will be able to come forward, I can't say, but it will be in the hundreds."

Anderson's office said it has spoken with at least 50 new potential victims, and Peter Isely of the advocacy group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests said he's fielded two dozen calls.

Amy Peterson, victim assistance coordinator for the archdiocese, said she's heard from fewer than 10. All but one of those cases involved priests who already appear on the archdiocese's online list of those with credible allegations of abuse against them, spokeswoman Julie Wolf said.

The claim involving the previously unidentified priest was turned over to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office, which declined to prosecute because the statute of limitations had lapsed, she said. It remains under internal investigation and will be taken up by the archdiocese's review board, she said.

 MJS

The end of the article goes on to make some stupid claims like the archdiocese wants to hurry things up to push for less victims coming forward...  Why is SNAP writing for the MJS?  This appears to be another push to remove the statute of limitations(oh but only for Catholics and not for school systems).