NYC's Cardinal Dolan Paid Pedophiles to Leave Priesthood

[stromboli]

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NYC's Cardinal Dolan paid pedophile priests to leave?
Minutes from meeting confirm: Dolan discussed paying $20,000 each to child molesters to quietly leave the priesthood
Policy appears to have been implemented as revealed in 2006 secret payout to pedophile priest
Newly uncovered document from 2003 shows the beginning of Dolan’s “shell game” of moving tens of millions of dollars into newly invented trusts
Victims want current Archbishop Listecki to reveal all payouts and costs of sex offenders, release the Milwaukee “Dolan Papers”, including all Finance Council minutes
WHO
Victim/survivors of childhood sexual violence by clergy of the Milwaukee archdiocese, including leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org/SNAPwisconsin.com) will release and discuss newly uncovered minutes from a March 2003 Milwaukee Archdiocese Finance council meeting where former Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Milwaukee auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba discuss using church funds to:

--pay off known priest pedophiles and child molesters $20,000 each to quietly leave the priesthood,
--set up a “restorative justice” program to prevent victims from receiving compensation for injuries comparable to cases being filed against the archdiocese of Milwaukee in California, and
--move millions of dollars from the archdiocese into a newly invented “trust” to prevent compensating victims, the first of several such “trusts” to be set up before the archdiocese declared bankruptcy in 2011.

Victims will also be emailing a letter Wednesday to current Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki demanding:

--full financial disclosure of all payouts and “laicization” bonuses to sex offender clerics,
--which charitable funds were used to pay-off clergy sex offenders, and
--the release of the “Dolan Papers”, including all minutes of the monthly Archdiocese Finance Council chaired by Dolan and auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba

WHEN
Wednesday, May 30, 11:30 a.m.

WHERE
On the front steps of the Federal Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee

WHAT
Minutes from a March, 2003 meeting surfacing this week in a filing in Federal Bankruptcy Court show that Cardinal Timothy Dolan, soon after beginning his tenure as Archbishop of Milwaukee, was preparing to pay pedophile clergy $20,000 to quietly leave the priesthood through the Vatican’s administrative process, or “laicization.” The payout, $10,000 at the beginning of the laicization process and $10,000 more at the completion of it, was provided independent of the cleric’s salary, pension and benefits. The payment had no restrictions placed on it.

The policy was apparently put into effect as confirmed by a 2006 report concerning serial Milwaukee child predator Fr. Franklyn Becker, who was paid $10,000 to sign his laicization papers and a July 2010 payment by current Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki to nine sex offender priests undergoing laicization. It has not known from which archdiocesan account the payouts have were funneled.

Attending and co-chairing the 2003 meeting were auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba and the archdiocesan finance officer, Wayne Schneider. It was Sklba and Schneider who had earlier authorized the secret payout of nearly half a million dollars as hush money for former Archbishop Rembert Weakland to cover up allegations that Weakland had sexually abused a Marquette University student.

During the meeting, Dolan and his Finance Council also discuss paying off victims of priests $30,000 each (or $10,000 more to the victim than the offender). The payouts would be engineered through a “restorative justice” program to stave off the anticipated settlements the archdiocese would likely face if victims were allowed to file cases in civil courts. Testimony and records in the current bankruptcy now show that Dolan did implement a victim “mediation” program that was designed to obtain victims signatures on legal releases, often with no lawyers present, and deliberately mislead survivors about the church’s prior knowledge of abusive priests.

The minutes also show that already in 2003 Dolan was beginning a series of financial maneuvers to place millions of dollars into newly invented “trusts” so that victims and later, bankruptcy creditors, would be prevented from accessing those assets.

In July of 2010, just months before filing for bankruptcy, the archdiocese announced that there were nine priests undergoing laicization and each was about to be paid $10,000. At the time, the archdiocese claimed the costs were for “living expenses”. Church officials refused to name the nine priests.

Victims, in a letter to Listecki to be emailed on Tuesday, will contend that the new document, along with Becker’s confirmed payment, shows that these nine priests were being paid the second half of their secret laicization deal.

“The federal bankruptcy court,” write victims to Listecki, “would never have allowed payments to pedophiles as part of a restructuring plan, much less unrestricted payouts. Appallingly, the archdiocese has no problem negotiating with pedophiles and appear to have made sure these priests got financially rewarded for their crimes before you filed for bankruptcy. Now your lawyers are trying to toss out as many victims from court as possible.”

Instead of restitution for hundreds of victims, Listecki has proposed to the court that that the archdiocese be allowed to set up a limited therapy fund for victims, operated by church officials. “How ironic,” concludes Tuesday’s letter to Listecki from survivors, “that when you [Listecki] paid off pedophile priests and dumped them back into the community you did so with no restrictions whatsoever. That money may be being used by them right now to aid in the commission of further crimes against children.”

Another blatant example of the Catholic Church doing everything to cover its tracks, rather than punish the evildoers in question. 9 priests? And then instead of turning them in to the authorities, giving them money and putting them back on the streets without notification to anyone that 9 pedophiles are now loose and unrecognized in the general public.

Justify this one, Catholic Crusader.

[Solitary]

Catholic crusader:  Solitary 

[stromboli]

Yeah, but put it into perspective. the Catholic Church is 1600 years old. so it is fair to say that this isn't exactly new. I have no doubt that there is a very long history of pederasty and worse behind the walls of the monasteries, cathedrals and dioceses of this organization.

It is only recently in the spotlight of the media that this has come to light, but you have to believe that such behavior is endemic and ingrained.

[Green Bottle]

I doubt that you will be getting an answer from catholic crusader anytime soon......

[stromboli]

I doubt that you will be getting an answer from catholic crusader anytime soon......

We shall see.

[The Skeletal Atheist]

At least he's getting them to leave....that's a horrid thing to say, but he's gone above and beyond what other cardinals have done, and that reflects badly on the church. It shouldn't be so that a cardinal quietly making pedophiles leave is better than his peers, but it is. Shame.

[stromboli]

At least he's getting them to leave....that's a horrid thing to say, but he's gone above and beyond what other cardinals have done, and that reflects badly on the church. It shouldn't be so that a cardinal quietly making pedophiles leave is better than his peers, but it is. Shame.

Yeah but the problem is that these potentially dangerous people are being put on the streets with no warning to the populace, which smacks of potential danger. Whether predatory behavior exists solely because of their association with the church or not is an unknown. Another concern of mine is that, given years of experience, the church has served as a training ground for these men in how to approach young boys-or girls- and take advantage of their situation.

[Cocoa Beware]

At least he's getting them to leave....that's a horrid thing to say, but he's gone above and beyond what other cardinals have done, and that reflects badly on the church. It shouldn't be so that a cardinal quietly making pedophiles leave is better than his peers, but it is. Shame.

Im not so sure about that. In fact Im not even sure what is more irresponsible.

I imagine they still represent a significant danger to children, except this way they get paid 20 grand.

[CatholicCrusader]

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Another blatant example of the Catholic Church doing everything to cover its tracks, rather than punish the evildoers in question. 9 priests? And then instead of turning them in to the authorities, giving them money and putting them back on the streets without notification to anyone that 9 pedophiles are now loose and unrecognized in the general public.

Justify this one, Catholic Crusader.

well if it was up to me those who are pedophiles or who are bishops covering for the pedophile so that more children should get molested, I would have them taken in front of a firing squad and executed

[Solitary]

But the Church doesn't even have them arrested. 

[stromboli]

well if it was up to me those who are pedophiles or who are bishops covering for the pedophile so that more children should get molested, I would have them taken in front of a firing squad and executed

Really? No shit? You support an organization who coddles criminal pedophiles and has done for centuries. You fucking hypocrite. You come on an atheist forum and say that? Why don't you go to a Catholic church and collar the priest and ask him why your religion has allowed this criminal behavior for centuries, and why the church has such a huge history of shoving it under the rug. Why don't you get on a catholic forum and demand that something be done, that these men be outed and tried and thrown into jail?

And explain to me, you hypocritical piece of garbage, how your vaunted religion has allowed this for centuries. It took the media and masses of victims speaking out to bring this to light. Had they not done so, the insidious practices would have continued unabated. The Catholic church did not confess until they had no other choice, and made every attempt to cover their institutionalized abuse of children. This is god's religion? Really?

We have never had anyone on this forum that is as smarmy and condescending as you. You really are a piece of work. If you represent the rank and file of Catholicism, it certainly explains why they are so clueless and incapable of fixing the behavior that is built right into the fabric of the church.

[Cocoa Beware]

well if it was up to me those who are pedophiles or who are bishops covering for the pedophile so that more children should get molested, I would have them taken in front of a firing squad and executed

This sure doesnt sound like a very serious comment... is this genuine, or is this what you thought we would want to hear, or what?

Are you aware that Ratzinger himself is directly implicated in this? That your representative of Christ not only knew what was going on and did nothing for the victims, but protected the criminals?

Cant you see the disconnect between saying something like that while being a member of your organization?

Can you now at least understand why all your prattling on about how Catholicism>Protestantism sounds so insipid and irritating to us?