Legal reckoning: New abuse suits could cost church over $4B

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Legal reckoning: New abuse suits could cost church over $4B

By BERNARD CONDON and JIM MUSTIAN
December 2, 2019

NEW YORK (AP) — At the end of another long day trying to sign up new clients accusing the Roman Catholic Church of sexual abuse, lawyer Adam Slater gazes out the window of his high-rise Manhattan office at one of the great symbols of the church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

“I wonder how much that’s worth?” he muses.

Across the country, attorneys like Slater are scrambling to file a new wave of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy, thanks to rules enacted in 15 states that extend or suspend the statute of limitations to allow claims stretching back decades. Associated Press reporting found the deluge of suits could surpass anything the nation’s clergy sexual abuse crisis has seen before, with potentially more than 5,000 new cases and payouts topping $4 billion.

It’s a financial reckoning playing out in such populous Catholic strongholds as New York, California and New Jersey, among the eight states that go the furthest with “lookback windows” that allow sex abuse claims no matter how old. Never before have so many states acted in near-unison to lift the restrictions that once shut people out if they didn’t bring claims of childhood sex abuse by a certain age, often their early 20s.

That has lawyers fighting for clients with TV ads and billboards asking, “Were you abused by the church?” And Catholic dioceses, while worrying about the difficulty of defending such old claims, are considering bankruptcy, victim compensation funds and even tapping valuable real estate to stay afloat.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/621efb9528384f278c71a97308404531

[Major Nikon]

1. The RCC has spent millions lobbying against this effort

Many dioceses appear to have been anticipating this for many years and have no doubt taken steps to shield their assets from lawsuits and I'm sure already have a well planned bankruptcy strategy.

I'm just not all that optimistic the thousands of lives the RCC has ruined with their culture of child rape will ever see anything approaching just compensation, nor will the RCC be significantly affected by it.

[RainCaster]

2. Take it all the way back to the Vatican

The RCC has an enormous stash of wealth, spread throughout the world. It is truly criminal how they have managed to hide such vast sums of wealth. It's not just cash, it's jewels, artworks, antiquities, real estate, corporations, and IP licenses. Because of this, (of course) they have plenty of funds for attorneys. Be prepared for a case that will extend well into the next century, long after the earth is no longer habitable.

[MineralMan]

3. Poor RCC...

It's not fair. It has never been fair. It has abused children for centuries and covered it up. The RCC has never been fair.

[democratisphere]

4. Interesting how lots of money always seems to be the cure.

[Major Nikon]

5. That's how tort law works

There is no cure for the lives destroyed by child rape. But billions in settlements is a pretty good incentive for the RCC to end their culture of child rape. Nothing else seems to have had much of an effect, especially when so many are still providing them with the funds needed to harbor and protect their child rapists.

[MineralMan]

6. Unfortunately, the very principles upon which the church is supposed to stand

have done nothing to prevent a long, long history of child sexual abuse. It appears to be endemic in the organization.

I doubt that monetary damages will change that, but they might force the RCC to go away, which would be OK with me.

[Major Nikon]

7. Every dollar taken from their coffers is one less to harbor a child rapist

When convicted child rapist George Pell is still on the RCC payroll and is still being defended by the pope, you can be assured they have no intention of changing until it becomes completely financially untenable.

[MineralMan]

8. Yes. And if enough dollars are taken, the RCC will become financially incapable

of continuing to operate. But $4 billion won't get the job done, I'm afraid. When I start seeing them selling masterpieces from the Vatican, I'll know the campaign is a success.