Archive for April, 2007

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Portland settles with abuse victims, bankruptcy deal approved

Posted April 27, 2007

National Catholic Reporter,  
April 27, 2007 

A federal judge has approved a $75 million settlement plan for the Portland, Ore., archdiocese that will provide financial relief for about 175 people who say they were sexually abused by priests.

As part of the settlement, the archdiocese has agreed to make public documents, mostly personnel files, on priests accused of sex abuse. The documents are expected to be released in mid-May. Details of the settlement were announced April 17.

Lawyers for victims called the agreement to release the documents "historic" and said it would mark the end of "the era of secrecy" when silence prevailed over abuse complaints.

"This policy of openness and transparency will go far in preventing future tragedies," David Slader, lawyer for a number of victims, told The Associated Press.

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Portland’s archdiocese settles 175 abuse cases

Posted April 18, 2007

PORTLAND, Ore. – Secret files on Roman Catholic priests accused of sex abuse will be released as part of a $75 million settlement signed yesterday by the Archdiocese of Portland, which will be allowed to reorganize from the first bankruptcy in the nation filed by a Catholic diocese.

 

The documents, mostly personnel files, are not expected to be released until mid-May. But lawyers for victims called the agreement to release the documents “historic” and said it would mark the end of “the era of secrecy” when silence prevailed over abuse complaints.

“This policy of openness and transparency will go far in preventing future tragedies,” said David Slader, who represents a number of victims, including one whose case prompted the diocese to declare bankruptcy in July 2004 on the eve of trial.

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Diocese to release documents as part of abuse settlement

Posted April 18, 2007

By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard

PORTLAND - Previously private personnel files of pedophile priests will be made public under a bankruptcy reorganization plan for the Archdiocese of Portland that was approved Tuesday.

The papers, to be released as early as next month, will include documents showing knowledge and cover-up of the priests’ activities by Catholic Church leaders.

"There is plenty there to cause frustration and anger," said Portland lawyer Kelly Clark, who represented more than 100 people abused by priests over the years and who obtained confidential copies of church records in the course of preparing for trials.

The cover-ups that Clark learned of happened more than 15 years ago, he said. The documents show no efforts by church leaders in the past decade to move priests to a different parish after they had been accused of abuse - a practice that deepened the Catholic clergy abuse scandal when it surfaced in Boston five years ago, Clark said.

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Portland Archdiocese to release documents related to sex abuse claims

Posted April 17, 2007

The move is part of the Catholic Church’s bankruptcy reorganization plan

By Ryan Geddes
LocalNewsDaily.com
Apr 17, 2007

The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon plans to release to the public internal documents about church personnel accused of child abuse over the last 50 years as part of its recently approved bankruptcy settlement, church officials and lawyers for sex abuse claimants announced Tuesday.

On Friday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris confirmed the Oregon Catholic Church’s proposed Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, which was filed in 2004 after a wave of child sex abuse claims filed against priests and other church employees. That agreement calls for the court to approve about $50 million in settlements and to establish a fund for future payouts of about $20 million.

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Deal in Portland Archdiocese Bankruptcy

Posted April 13, 2007

Foxnews.com
Friday, April 13, 2007

PORTLAND, Ore. —

A judge overseeing the bankruptcy filing of the Archdiocese of Portland will confirm a proposed $75-million deal for current and future sex abuse claims against priests and other church officials, according to court documents filed Friday.

The decision from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris leaves intact the compensation proposed in a plan negotiated by the plaintiffs and the archdiocese, the first in the nation ever to declare bankruptcy.

The judge asked lawyers to make one change and draw up final documents for her approval.

About 175 people who claimed they were molested by priests or other church officials have agreed to settle their cases for about $52 million.

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