Archdiocese of Portland Oregon Bankruptcy

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darcee

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This whole thing upsets me.

While I feel tremendious sympathy for anyone hurt by any church official in any way I fail to see how forcing the diocese to close schools or cut out services to the needy will “heal” anyone. Buy a lawyer or two a nice car, new house and country club membership…

Here is a link to local coverage for anyone interested.

oregonlive.com/special/index.ssf?/special/archdiocese.html
 
The consequences of sin are at times heartbreaking and can hurt people who are uninvolved. 😦

As C.S. Lewis pointed out, that a Christian who commits a crime should agree with the punishment even if he has repented of his sin. Christians love what is good, and justice is a good thing.

The question to ask: Is this just? Are the civil damages in proportion to the gravity of the offense?

I can’t say one way or another, I don’t know enough about the case.
 
But what do you say to people who think the whole church should shut down because of bad things bad people (WHO ARE btw DEAD) did in some cases 40+ years ago?

I am all for the guilty paying for their sins, but not the innocent paying for the sins of the dead who are long gone.

-D
 
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darcee:
But what do you say to people who think the whole church should shut down because of bad things bad people (WHO ARE btw DEAD) did in some cases 40+ years ago?

I am all for the guilty paying for their sins, but not the innocent paying for the sins of the dead who are long gone.

-D
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I sorta agree with you on that one. Four people will be filing a 50 MILLION DOLLAR lawsuit against the diocese of Spokane. Well, they’ve already filed it. The thing goes to trial in November. This will bankrupt the diocese, ruin our plans for a new seminary, and force the closure of many parishes. The alleged abuses happened almost 30 years ago. The priest in question is dead and the bishop in question is dead. Although I am no fan of pediphile priests and corrupt bishops, the parties involved are dead and have received their eternal reward. The holy priests of my diocese should not be made to suffer for the crimes of a few Judases.
 
Here is a summary of the bankruptcy filing:
bankrupt.com/catholic.txt
(Hat tip to Amy Welborn)

Lots of interesting info including: the Bishop’s statement; diocean overview; a listing of the top commercial creditors; and a listing of the top tort litigation creditors.
 
A family that brings in $50,000 annually will have a total income of $2 million over a 40-year working life.

What proportion of that income–earned at 40 hours per week of perhaps strenuous, perhaps boring, perhaps dangerous work–would be fair compensation for someone who was abused by a priest? What would the average abuse case be “worth”? How much damage does the victim sustain, if reduced to a proportion of an average worker’s lifetime income?

I haven’t yet read of a case about which I legitimately could say, “This was so damaging that the victim ought to get the equivalent a man’s lifetime income–or five or ten times that” (ten times would be $20 million).

Justice works both ways. Victims ought to get what they deserve in justice–neither more nor less than that. Most of the awards I’ve read about have been unjust in that they have been far too high.

One could make something of a parallel, I suppose, to executive wages. It’s proper that employees have differing salaries, based on their skill level, job duties, and other factors. But can it be just for a CEO to bring in, say, ten thousand times the salary of the average worker in his company? I’d say that is an injustice because the compensation is irrationally high (even though such executives will rationalize that that’s not so).

Awards in civil suits against the Church–or against any institution or company–can be unjust for being too high. We shouldn’t let sympathy for victims blind us to the requirements of justice.
 
Our Diocese (Dallas) was one of the first to have to make one of those monster legal payments. The ephebophilic priest named in the lawsuit (Rody Kos) was at MY parish and one of the young men he assaulted was the son of a friend of ours. You might think I am all in favor of “cutting where it hurts.”

Yet I do not support the tremendous payouts. Absolutely the Church must do all She can to heal, support, and make REASONABLE reparations for damages done, especially if there is proven complicity or cover ups by the authorities / bishops. Priests proven to be guilty should be defrocked and locked up, IMHO. I believe, however, that true justice is not the same as revenge, and that true justice is not usually best served by huge amounts of cash being thrown around.

It’s awfully easy nowadays to come forward with an accusation from two or three decades ago, against a priest now elderly or deceased, with virtually NO way to prove or disprove anything. Witnesses gone, memories cloudy, paperwork lost…A few of these cases may be true. I think well over half these cases are hucksters looking for a quick settlement of several hundred thousands from the local Diocese. It’s also possible, as I have seen suggested elsewhere, that some are cases started intentionally by anti-catholic sympathizers, solely to make more negative media waves.

The cost to the diocesan schools, Catholic Charities, and Catholics Universities and Hospitals is staggering. Here in Dallas we continue to feel the financial pinch several years after the payout was made. The Sisters of St. Paul no longer staff or own the local once-Catholic hospital. We’ve lost at least two schools that I am aware of, one of them in THE POOREST section of town. Catholic Charities staff has been slashed, hours cut, services ended, free clinics closed. A high school which we desperately need here has been delayed in opening for years as a result of no funding, because of this monster payout the Diocese had to make to settle the lawsuit. The parish I belong to can no longer afford to run a full time food pantry or offer tuition assistance to schoolkids like they once did, etc etc. 😦

I don’t have an answer aside from prayer, which I have seen work wonders.
 
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Makerteacher:
The cost to the diocesan schools, Catholic Charities, and Catholics Universities and Hospitals is staggering. Here in Dallas we continue to feel the financial pinch several years after the payout was made.
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Interestingly, the University of Dallas, which is Catholic, is in the unusual situation of being fiscally independent of the diocese in which it sits. This is fortunate for UD, otherwise the diocese would surely have sold off much of the campus land.
 
Karl Keating:
I haven’t yet read of a case about which I legitimately could say, “This was so damaging that the victim ought to get the equivalent a man’s lifetime income–or five or ten times that” (ten times would be $20 million).

Justice works both ways. Victims ought to get what they deserve in justice–neither more nor less than that. Most of the awards I’ve read about have been unjust in that they have been far too high.
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I think a lot of the issue revolves around punitive damages, although I haven’t followed this closely because the church is essentially immune (and uniquely so) from these types of suits in my state.

For you non-lawyers who have been burning to learn about this subject (the rest can just leave now…), there are two types of damages, compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are awarded to compensate the victim for his injuries. Say a drunk driver runs me over as I’m walking during lunch and causes me serious injuries. The law entitles me to recover money to compensate for past and future injuries, including lost wages, past and future medical care (if I need PT for the rest of my life, for example), and the pain and suffering (including loss of enjoyment of life) I have endured and will endure because of the injury.

Punitive damages are awarded to punish the wrong-doer for conduct that is really, really bad. (The standard varies from state to state.) The classic example is the Ford Pinto case, where Ford manufactured Pintos knowing that they contained a defect that would cause them to explode when rear-ended in a certain way. Ford considered repairing this defect but decided not to based on a financial calculation – it would be cheaper to pay a few million-dollar verdicts to the families of people burned to death than to spend the $17 or so required to fix each car. In that case, the $30-million punitive damage award was intended solely to punish Ford for wretched conduct that bordered on evil. Who paid it? Certainly not the people who made the decisions; it was the stockholders and employees who took the hit.

And punitive damage awards go to the victims.

Now we go back to the Church. The allegations are that the institutional church knew that a few priests were serial child molestors but took no effective steps to prevent them from molesting; in fact, that it placed them in positions of trust where they could continue to molest. That seems pretty evil to me, and it seems like the sort of allegation that (if proven) could certainly support an award of punitive damages. The purpose of those damages is not to reward the victims; it’s to punish the institution that looked the other way while they were victimized.

And if it’s proven that the institution continued to look the other way and cover-up until the victims’ lawsuits forced its hand (which appears to be what happened in Boston), then I think severe financial punishment is warranted. We lawyers are fond of saying that to force an institution to change, you have to hit it where it hurts. In most cases, that’s the pocketbook. I had hoped for better from the church I was raised in, but it really looks like the US bishops did not take this issue seriously until it became a financial issue.
 
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Makerteacher:
A high school which we desperately need here has been delayed in opening for years as a result of no funding, because of this monster payout the Diocese had to make to settle the lawsuit.
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Is that the new high school opening in Plano next year? Are the other Catholic high schools – Lynch, Dunne, Jesuit, Ursuline, and Cistercian – still open?

Where was Kos posted, and when? I think I knew some people in high school who knew him. I’m pretty sure he was never at our parishes – Christ the King and St. Paul’s.

Which parishes have closed?
 
Auberon Quin:
Is that the new high school opening in Plano next year? Are the other Catholic high schools – Lynch, Dunne, Jesuit, Ursuline, and Cistercian – still open?

Where was Kos posted, and when? I think I knew some people in high school who knew him. I’m pretty sure he was never at our parishes – Christ the King and St. Paul’s.

Which parishes have closed?
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Yes, the new high school, JPII, will be in Plano and is due to open (finally) in the fall of 2005. The other schools you mention are still open, plus we have a relatively new Legionaires high school, The Highlands, in Irving, right next door to UD.

I know Rudy Kos was posted at my parish, St. Luke Community in Irving in the last 1980s, and I believe also at All Saints before that. He went on to St. John’s parish in Ennis after he left Irving, and then he was removed from priestly work after that.

It was not two parishes but two parish schools that closed: St. Anthony’s, in Fair Park, had to close down as a Catholic sachool last year. It reopened as a charter public school with a lot of the same staff this year, but has lost it’s Catholic identity and is funded by the government now. The other was St. Michael’s High School in Oak Cliff, which shut down due to lack of funding in 2001.
 
I live in the Portland Archdiocese. We Catholics here now have to wait and see what the ramifications of this ‘bankruptcy’ will be.
I know that many have had their faith shaken in our American bishops including our local one. But that has been going on for a long time.

The indifference so many faithful Catholics have experienced in a number of serious matters of faith - like the heresy being taught on a daily basis in our so-called “Catholic” high schools in this archdiocese - when dealing with our Archdiocese and those that “control” it - has been going on for years now. It should be no surprise that we have the problems going on that we do.
We had a scandal not too long ago in our own parish and the offending priest - who SHOULD have been removed from a pastoral position - was simply relocated. (This did not involve molestation by him but another grievous matter - and parties associated with the grievous matter of this priest WERE involved in child molestation…) I said to our new priest (who is wonderful) that
“They (bishops) STILL don’t get it.”

I just don’t know what to think anymore. I am afraid that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg involving “scandals” in the American heirarchy.
I am comforted though by Jesus’ words: “…and the gates of hell shall NEVER prevail against it.”
God’s holy church will survive this cancer that has infested it - he gave us His promise.
I think he is cleaning house and weeding out the garbage.
As a holy priest Father John Corapi answered when he posed the question of why God ‘allows’ evil: “To bring about a greater good.”
Just look at the cross…
 
I haven’t yet read of a case about which I legitimately could say, “This was so damaging that the victim ought to get the equivalent a man’s lifetime income–or five or ten times that” (ten times would be $20 million).

I can provide you with several names of attorneys who would disagree… in Ky we have an attempt or request for a class action filing all the way to Rome… Looking for DEEP pockets… they emptied the pockets of the Archdiocese of Lousiville…

my one oasis in this desert of litagation… "The Gates Of Hell Will Not Prevail… 👍
 
Auberon Quin:
For you non-lawyers who have been burning to learn about this subject (the rest can just leave now…), there are two types of damages, compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are awarded to compensate the victim for his injuries. Say a drunk driver runs me over as I’m walking during lunch and causes me serious injuries. The law entitles me to recover money to compensate for past and future injuries, including lost wages, past and future medical care (if I need PT for the rest of my life, for example), and the pain and suffering (including loss of enjoyment of life) I have endured and will endure because of the injury.

Punitive damages are awarded to punish the wrong-doer for conduct that is really, really bad. (The standard varies from state to state.) The classic example is the Ford Pinto case, where Ford manufactured Pintos knowing that they contained a defect that would cause them to explode when rear-ended in a certain way. Ford considered repairing this defect but decided not to based on a financial calculation – it would be cheaper to pay a few million-dollar verdicts to the families of people burned to death than to spend the $17 or so required to fix each car. In that case, the $30-million punitive damage award was intended solely to punish Ford for wretched conduct that bordered on evil. Who paid it? Certainly not the people who made the decisions; it was the stockholders and employees who took the hit.

And punitive damage awards go to the victims.

Now we go back to the Church. The allegations are that the institutional church knew that a few priests were serial child molestors but took no effective steps to prevent them from molesting; in fact, that it placed them in positions of trust where they could continue to molest. That seems pretty evil to me, and it seems like the sort of allegation that (if proven) could certainly support an award of punitive damages. The purpose of those damages is not to reward the victims; it’s to punish the institution that looked the other way while they were victimized.

And if it’s proven that the institution continued to look the other way and cover-up until the victims’ lawsuits forced its hand (which appears to be what happened in Boston), then I think severe financial punishment is warranted. We lawyers are fond of saying that to force an institution to change, you have to hit it where it hurts. In most cases, that’s the pocketbook. I had hoped for better from the church I was raised in, but it really looks like the US bishops did not take this issue seriously until it became a financial issue.
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You did a great job putting into words how I was coming to understand the situation. It seems that often times the requested amount is rarely awarded once the trial is over…is that correct? Don’t the amounts actually awarded come to a lot less? If that’s the case I kind of wish the archdiocese would have faced the music.

It just seems really shady to hide behind Chapter 11 if you aren’t guilty…so the fact that they filed - and that the Vatican approves of the filing - suggests to me that they know they are guilty or that there’s enough evidence to convince the judge of their guilt but don’t want to pay the piper – unreasonable or not. It looks like the Institution is still covering up and that’s what bugs me the most.

Honestly, I could not begin to measure what dollar amount would be considered fair. As you explain about getting the message to the Institution by awarding such amounts usually ends up costing the consumer (parishioner) in the long run is still not a good enough reason to avoid the judgement. Perhaps we all do have to pay the consequences for us not demanding more of the bishops and Institution for all these years as well. Blind eyes were turned by many along the way in order for it to have gone on for so long.
 
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YinYangMom:
You did a great job putting into words how I was coming to understand the situation. It seems that often times the requested amount is rarely awarded once the trial is over…is that correct? Don’t the amounts actually awarded come to a lot less? If that’s the case I kind of wish the archdiocese would have faced the music.

It just seems really shady to hide behind Chapter 11 if you aren’t guilty…so the fact that they filed - and that the Vatican approves of the filing - suggests to me that they know they are guilty or that there’s enough evidence to convince the judge of their guilt but don’t want to pay the piper – unreasonable or not. It looks like the Institution is still covering up and that’s what bugs me the most.

Honestly, I could not begin to measure what dollar amount would be considered fair. As you explain about getting the message to the Institution by awarding such amounts usually ends up costing the consumer (parishioner) in the long run is still not a good enough reason to avoid the judgement. Perhaps we all do have to pay the consequences for us not demanding more of the bishops and Institution for all these years as well. Blind eyes were turned by many along the way in order for it to have gone on for so long.
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Thanks for the compliment. I have been explaining the concept of punitive damages to my clients for a long time now, and it’s nice to hear that I sort of have it down.

If there’s a jury, the jury decides the amount of punitive damages. The court CAN reduce the jury’s awards, but the awards usually have to be grossly out of proportion to do that.

As for the guilt/innocence of the diocese, that’s a different question from whether you try a case. I represent doctors accused of medical malpractice, and I have advised their insurers to settle cases even when I’m pretty sure the doc didn’t do anything wrong. Why? Because the issue is not right/wrong, it’s how you’re going to do at trial. I might be representing the Archangel Gabriel, but if the jury’s going to conclude he’s untrustworthy, then my duty is to recommend settlement and get out for less than we would have to pay if the case went to trial and my guy lost.

I think Portland took seven cases for trial and won … zero of them. Presumably, they thought those were defensible cases, or at least cases in which they’d get off for less than the victims were demanding. Once you see those kinds of results, you start to figure that maybe you just can’t win.

I would have advised the diocese to declare chapter 11, too. Yes, it owes an obligation to the victims, but satisfying that financial obligation would have destroyed it financially. At least this way the institution can survive, and it can continue to do good work.
 
I believe our diocese of Toledo is close to bankruptcy. It’s really hard to tell, but we are closing 20% of the parishes in the next year. There already has been the closing of some schools. I have all kinds of sympathy for the people that have been molested by priests, but at some point, it looks to me like a big money grab by people that want to put the church out of business. There have been a large number of priests that have been found innocent, but their vocation has been ruined by the sensational publicity from the liberal anti-catholic media. But we will survive. Jesus said so.
 
Part of the reason the Archdiocese chose to file Chapter 11 is that the two cases immediately scheduled for trial combined for a total of about $155,000,000. One of the two cases was for $135,000,000, and although I have not seen the pleadings, and the talk in the press didn’t say so directly (at least, what I read), I suspect that part of the case was looking for punative damages. Oregon is the most unchurched state in the Union; it has a firestorm going on over gay marriages (the county attorney and 4 of 5 county commissioners decided on their own that denying gays a marriage certificate was unconstitutional per the Oregon constitution); it has had two votes on euthanasia; the first one barely passed, and the second one, backed solidly by the Church, gave us a shellacking with better than 60% pass rate. And as said above, zip-7 gives you pause. The biggest arguement right now is what the archdiocese is worth; the Archbishop says @ 150,000,000; the opponents say 300-500,000,000. The crux of it may be whether Canon law will prevail, or civil law. Canon law says the Archbishop does not have the legal right to sell off parishes (barring what, I don’t know, a la Boston closures); and what is left is all of the other lawsuits filed but not ready for trial. If these two suits came back in favor of the plaitiffs at or near to demands, there would be little or nothing left for any of the other plaintiffs. So there is very strong reason to file, if for no other reason than justice to all, rather than justice to the first to strike.
 
One would hope that those involved would have learned some serious lessons…but alas no. I’ve gotten to know the former archbishop (now cardinal) who was in Portland in the 90s. Even though he left and was reassigned to an A/D that had already dealt with its scandals, he’s now creating a few of his own. For one thing, he submitted to the Vatican for promotion the name of an auxillary bishop who is openly gay and caused serious scandals as rector of a major seminary. The man is now the bishop of a large diocese that is still reeling from scandal…and the fox is running the hen house.

From my own experience, there are blinders on the eyes of some of our leaders. It’s either that they really want to believe their colleagues aren’t guilty (or can somehow actually change) or they just fail to comprehend the severity of their actions.

I don’t necessarily agree with the horribly huge settlements, but the reality is that there’s nothing else that’s going to bring change.

BTW, I agree with much of Karl’s post above, but it does bear remembering that the lawyer’s get 1/3rd off the top, then the government gets 1/3 from the structured settlement. So in the end, they’re not really getting a king’s ransom…they’re getting roughly half of what is actually paid out.
 
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