Search Results "new york child victims act"

Former St. Paul bishop won’t testify, as St. Louis case settled

The Archdiocese of St. Louis announced a confidential settlement in a priest sex-abuse case scheduled to go to trial Monday but questioned the truth of a 22-year-old woman’s statement that she was molested as a young girl.The settlement for an undisclosed amount of money in the suit against defrocked Catholic priest Joseph Ross also spared the archdiocese from possible public disclosure of further details on hundreds of abuse complaints against its employees over decades.The woman, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, had accused Ross of molesting her as a small girl between 1997…

Catholic Church lobbies to avert sex abuse lawsuits

At the height of the clergy sex-abuse scandal in 2002, Catholic leaders stayed silent as California lawmakers passed a landmark bill that gave hundreds of accusers extra time to file civil lawsuits. The consequences were costly. California dioceses paid $1.2 billion in settlements and released thousands of confidential documents that showed their leaders, including Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, had made plans to shield admitted molesters from law enforcement. Now, state legislators are considering a bill that would give some alleged victims more time to sue. But this time, the chu…

Yeshiva Rocked as Six More People Accuse School of Sex Abuse Cover-Up

Six more people have come forward with accusations against Yeshiva University, days after 19 former high school students filed a $380 million suit charging that Y.U. covered up decades of physical and sexual abuse. Mike Reck, an attorney representing the six, said his clients are disappointed they have been unable to reach a settlement with Y.U. and are poised to file lawsuits. If the impasse continues, “the survivors have no choice but to avail themselves of the court system,” said Reck, an attorney with the New York office of Jeff Anderson and Associates, a Minnesota firm that spec…

The Church’s Errant Shepherds

BOSTON, Philadelphia, Los Angeles. The archdioceses change but the overarching story line doesn’t, and last week Milwaukee had a turn in the spotlight, with the release of roughly 6,000 pages of records detailing decades of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests there, a sweeping, searing encyclopedia of crime and insufficient punishment.  But the words I keep marveling at aren’t from that wretched trove. They’re from an open letter that Jerome Listecki, the archbishop of Milwaukee, wrote to Catholics just before the documents came out. “Prepare to be shocked,” he said. What a q…

Milwaukee archdiocese files show priests paid to leave, money transferred before bankruptcy

MILWAUKEE — As more victims of clergy sex abuse came forward, then-Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan oversaw a plan to pay some abusers to leave the priesthood after writing to Vatican officials with increasing frustration and concern, warning them about the potential for scandal if they did not defrock problem priests, according to documents released Monday. Dolan’s correspondence with Vatican officials and priests accused of sexual abuse was included in about 6,000 pages of documents the Archdiocese of Milwaukee released Monday as part of a deal reached in federal bankruptcy court with…

16 May, 2013: Jane Doe 173 and Family Achieve Historic Settlement With Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013, our clients, Jane Doe 173 and her parents, settled a historic lawsuit against the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph and its Bishop, Robert Finn.  Their case was significant for two reasons. First, through the lawsuit, Jane Doe 173, with the brave support of her family, sought justice for the damages caused by Bishop Finn’s actions in supporting Father Shawn Ratigan, a child pornographer, at the expense of numerous children from the Diocese, including Jane Doe.  Second, Jane Doe 173 brought her claim under Masha’s Law, a federal statute which allows survivo…

16 May, 2013: Jane Doe 173 and Family Achieve Historic Settlement With Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013, our clients, Jane Doe 173 and her parents, settled a historic lawsuit against the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph and its Bishop, Robert Finn.  Their case was significant for two reasons. First, through the lawsuit, Jane Doe 173, with the brave support of her family, sought justice for the damages caused by Bishop Finn’s actions in supporting Father Shawn Ratigan, a child pornographer, at the expense of numerous children from the Diocese, including Jane Doe.  Second, Jane Doe 173 brought her claim under Masha’s Law, a federal statute which allows survivo…

Panel of advocates discuss Catholic church’s ‘mortal sins’

Rumors that the Roman Catholic church’s clergy sex abuse crisis is a problem of the past have been greatly exaggerated. “The bishops’ public relations machine has persuaded the people that it is a problem that was, not that is,” Jeff Anderson says, “and that is a living lie. There have been superficial changes, but not fundamental changes.” Anderson, one of the most well-known lawyers to bring a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic church, was part of a panel to promote the publication of Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime, and the Era of Catholic Scandal, a new book by journalist Michael D’Antonio. The…

Archdiocese of Milwaukee to release sex abuse records

In a major development in its bankruptcy, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced Wednesday that it will make public thousands of pages of documents detailing its handling of clergy sex abuse cases dating back decades.
The decision – a reversal for the archdiocese – came on the eve of a scheduled hearing at which U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley was expected to order the release of at least some of those records, which are under seal.
The release of documents has been a primary objective of victims in the hundreds of clergy sex abuse cases around the country, including the Milwaukee ba…

Archdiocese of Milwaukee to release sex abuse records

In a major development in its bankruptcy, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced Wednesday that it will make public thousands of pages of documents detailing its handling of clergy sex abuse cases dating back decades. The decision – a reversal for the archdiocese – came on the eve of a scheduled hearing at which U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley was expected to order the release of at least some of those records, which are under seal. The release of documents has been a primary objective of victims in the hundreds of clergy sex abuse cases around the country, including the Milwaukee ba…