NEWS & EVENTS

Using a little known federal child pornography statute known as Masha’s Law, attorneys for a child porn victim of Father Shawn Ratigan filed a lawsuit today in United States District Court - Western District of Missouri, against the priest, Bishop Robert Finn, and the Diocese of Kansas City.

A Navajo man who alleges that he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest more than 25 years ago will get his day in tribal court. The Navajo Nation Supreme Court this week overturned a decision by the Shiprock District Court that dismissed the suit on grounds it was filed too late. The suit was filed in May 2007, more than 20 years after the alleged abuse occurred.

Attorneys for the creditors in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy are attacking the validity of its $50 million cemetery trust, saying it was created in 2007 to defraud victims of clergy sex abuse. The creditors committee, composed of victim-survivors, filed a counterclaim Tuesday against the trust and its sole trustee, Archbishop Jerome Listecki, asking the bankruptcy court to void the 2008 transfer of $55 million into the account, and to declare the trust invalid. If the trust is declared valid, it argues, the court should require the archdiocese to trace all deposits to ensure that as...

News Release September 13, 2011   Navajo Nation Supreme Court:   Tribal court must hear case of priest who sexually abused Navajo child on reservation   Ruling reverses lower court that dismissed case based on a 20-year delay of reporting   Allows lawsuit against Franciscan priest, his order and the Diocese of Gallup to move forward   (St. Paul, MN) A prominent Minnesota law firm, known throughout the county for pioneering the use of civil litigation against clergy who sexually abuse children, achieved a major victory last week when the Navajo Na...