Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFederal Judge: Catholic Church Has A Constitutional Right Not To Compensate Victims Of Sex Abuse
I think the first line of the Wisconsin anthem ought to be changed to "Oy, Wisconsin!"
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/31/2388461/federal-judge-catholic-church-has-a-constitutional-right-not-to-compensate-victims-of-sex-abuse/
A federal judge in Wisconsin handed down an opinion yesterday granting the Catholic Church and indeed, potentially all religious institutions such sweeping immunity from federal bankruptcy law that it is not clear that it would permit any plaintiff to successfully sue any church in any court. While the ostensible issue in this case is whether over $50 million in church funds are shielded from a bankruptcy proceeding triggered largely by a flood of clerical sex abuse claims against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Judge Rudolph Randa reads the churchs constitutional and legal right to religious liberty so broadly as to render religious institutions immune from much of the law.
The case involves approximately $57 million that former Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan transferred from the archdioceses general accounts to into a separate trust set up to maintain the churchs cemeteries. Although Dolan, who is now a cardinal, the Archbishop of New York and the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has denied that the purpose of this transfer was to shield the funds from lawsuits, Dolan penned a letter to the Vatican in 2007 where he explained that transferring the funds into the trust would lead to an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.
The issue facing the court is, essentially, whether the funds that Dolan split off into a separate trust can now be reabsorbed into the archdioceses assets in order to enable sex abuse victims and other creditors to be paid out of these assets. In holding that these funds cannot be so absorbed, Randa relies on a law that limits the federal governments ability to substantially burden a persons exercise of religion, Randa cites to the current Archbishop of Milwaukees statement that the care and maintenance of Catholic cemeteries, cemetery property, and the remains of those interred is a fundamental exercise of the Catholic faith, and concludes that this statement alone is enough to shield the churchs funds. As Randa explains, if the Trusts funds are converted into the bankruptcy estate, there will be no funds or, at best, insufficient funds for the perpetual care of the Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries.
And Randa does not stop there. He goes on to argue that senior church officials get to unilaterally decide what constitutes a substantial burden on their faith for purposes of federal law Archbishop Listeckis declaration stands unopposed, and on the issue of religious doctrine, it is unassailable. Moreover, the issue of substantial burden is essentially coterminous with religious doctrine. In this case, an archbishop declared cemetery funds to be untouchable in a bankruptcy proceeding, but Randas reasoning could extend much farther. Nothing in his opinion would prevent a churchs officials from declaring that every single line in every single ledger kept by the church is mandated by the sacred word of God and therefore every single dollar owned by the church is untouchable so long as the church engages in the kind of accounting gymnastics Dolan allegedly performed.
The case involves approximately $57 million that former Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan transferred from the archdioceses general accounts to into a separate trust set up to maintain the churchs cemeteries. Although Dolan, who is now a cardinal, the Archbishop of New York and the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has denied that the purpose of this transfer was to shield the funds from lawsuits, Dolan penned a letter to the Vatican in 2007 where he explained that transferring the funds into the trust would lead to an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.
The issue facing the court is, essentially, whether the funds that Dolan split off into a separate trust can now be reabsorbed into the archdioceses assets in order to enable sex abuse victims and other creditors to be paid out of these assets. In holding that these funds cannot be so absorbed, Randa relies on a law that limits the federal governments ability to substantially burden a persons exercise of religion, Randa cites to the current Archbishop of Milwaukees statement that the care and maintenance of Catholic cemeteries, cemetery property, and the remains of those interred is a fundamental exercise of the Catholic faith, and concludes that this statement alone is enough to shield the churchs funds. As Randa explains, if the Trusts funds are converted into the bankruptcy estate, there will be no funds or, at best, insufficient funds for the perpetual care of the Milwaukee Catholic Cemeteries.
And Randa does not stop there. He goes on to argue that senior church officials get to unilaterally decide what constitutes a substantial burden on their faith for purposes of federal law Archbishop Listeckis declaration stands unopposed, and on the issue of religious doctrine, it is unassailable. Moreover, the issue of substantial burden is essentially coterminous with religious doctrine. In this case, an archbishop declared cemetery funds to be untouchable in a bankruptcy proceeding, but Randas reasoning could extend much farther. Nothing in his opinion would prevent a churchs officials from declaring that every single line in every single ledger kept by the church is mandated by the sacred word of God and therefore every single dollar owned by the church is untouchable so long as the church engages in the kind of accounting gymnastics Dolan allegedly performed.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
4 replies, 772 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Federal Judge: Catholic Church Has A Constitutional Right Not To Compensate Victims Of Sex Abuse (Original Post)
Jackpine Radical
Aug 2013
OP
Tomorrow's news headline: "Corporations are not people, my friend, they are churches" nt
Xipe Totec
Aug 2013
#2
Borchkins
(724 posts)1. We should care more about the dead than the living.
Perfect! (sarcasm!)
B
Xipe Totec
(43,888 posts)2. Tomorrow's news headline: "Corporations are not people, my friend, they are churches" nt
TheLion
(44 posts)3. Countdown
How long until this bizarre ruling is overturned on appeal?
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)4. I don't doubt it will be.
But then ya never know--if it gets to the Supreme Court, I could almost see something really crazy happening.
What do Alito, Thomas, Roberts, Scalia & Kennedy have in common?
Two things, really.
They are of course the loony conservative wing of the Court.
And they are all Catholic. (As is Sotomayor.)