Cardinal Dolan hid $57m from sex abuse victims and paid priests to leave the clergy reveals court documents just made public

  • In June 2007 Dolan sent letter to the Vatican saying moving the money would provide 'an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim'
  • The Vatican moved to swiftly approve the request, even though it often took years to remove known abusers
  • Correspondence made public along with thousands of pages of other documents detailing sex abuse in southeastern Wisconsin

By Associated Press Reporter and Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 22:51 EST, 2 July 2013 | UPDATED: 23:03 EST, 2 July 2013

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, moved nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in 2007 specifically to shield it from lawsuits by victims of clergy sexual abuse

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, moved nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in 2007 specifically to shield it from lawsuits by victims of clergy sexual abuse

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, moved nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in 2007 specifically to shield it from lawsuits by victims of clergy sexual abuse, according to documents released on Monday.

The documents were released as part of a deal reached in federal bankruptcy court between the archdiocese and victims suing it for fraud.

Victims and their attorneys have accused Dolan of bankruptcy fraud, pointing to the June 2007 letter in which he told a Vatican office that moving the cemetery care money into a trust would provide ‘an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.’

The Vatican moved swiftly to approve the request, the files show, even though it often took years to remove known abusers from the priesthood.

In a statement, Dolan called any suggestion he was trying to shield money from victims an ‘old and discredited’ attack.

Jerry Topczewski, chief of staff for current Archbishop Jerome Listecki, said the money was always set aside in a separate fund for cemetery care and moving it to a trust just formalized that.

Church law requires bishops to seek Vatican approval for any property sale or asset transfer in the millions of dollars. 

 

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The correspondence was made public on Monday along with thousands of pages of other documents detailing sex abuse by dozens of priests in the archdiocese covering southeastern Wisconsin. 

Dolan called any suggestion he was trying to shield money from victims an 'old and discredited' attack

Dolan called any suggestion he was trying to shield money from victims an 'old and discredited' attack

Victims have accused the archdiocese of transferring abusive priests to new churches without warning parishioners and covering up their crimes for decades.

Although Dolan has no direct connection with the abuse, he has long been suspected of helping to protect the Church from its repercussions, particularly during his tenure as the archbishop of Milwaukee.

Lawyers for the victims said the documents would prove that he transferred $130 million from the church’s books - about $55 million in a cemetery account, and $75 million in an investment account - to shield the money from abuse victims.

The documents also show that Dolan oversaw a plan to pay some abusers to leave the priesthood.

They included John O'Brien, who was convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault in 2000 in a case involving a 17-year-old. At least four other victims later came forward.

The archdiocese barred O'Brien from ministry and celebrating Mass.

In 2003, it offered him $10,000 if he would voluntarily agree to leave the priesthood and another $10,000 when Vatican officials announced their decision about his future. O'Brien took the deal but was not officially defrocked until 2009.

Jeff Anderson, the attorney representing most of the 575 plaintiffs with sex abuse claims in bankruptcy court, said cases like O'Brien's show that the church put predators before children.

priests

Former priests John Wagner, left, was accused of making advances to students at the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan in the 1980s, and Daniel Budzynski, right, repeatedly abused children and showed no remorse

He and many victims find it especially heinous that the church paid a priest who had already been convicted of a crime, and they fault Dolan for that.

But Topczewski said the archdiocese had adopted the practice of paying priests leaving the priesthood years before Dolan took over. Most of the priests were not accused of wrongdoing, and the money helped them transition into their new lives, he said.

At least three priests accused of sexual abuse received payments when they left the priesthood before Dolan's arrival, according to the documents. Six more left under Dolan, with deals calling for them to receive $20,000 each.

Topczewski said the money covered the men's health care, but it also got ‘priests out quicker. That's what victims were asking for.’

In 2003, nearly 40 years after some of the earliest reported abuse took place, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was then archbishop of Milwaukee, sought permission to have the priest, Daniel Budzynski, officially defrocked.

The Vatican office in charge of sex abuse cases, then led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, took more than a year to formally dismiss Budzynski

The Vatican office in charge of sex abuse cases, then led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, took more than a year to formally dismiss Budzynski

Despite the egregiousness of the priest's crimes, the Vatican office in charge of sex abuse cases, then led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, took more than a year to formally dismiss him.

The Budzynski case was among at least a half-dozen Dolan inherited when he took over the archdiocese in 2002 amid the growing clergy abuse scandal.

It shows some of the difficulty church leaders had in dealing with serial molesters and a church bureaucracy that in many cases sat on pleas for priests' removal for years.

Another case shows just how difficult it was to get rid of priests who wouldn't go voluntarily.
John C. Wagner was accused of making advances to students at the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan when he was in campus ministry in the 1980s.

Weakland tried in the 1990s to get Wagner to voluntarily leave the priesthood, but Wagner refused.

In 2005, as settlements with clergy sex abuse victims were piling up, Dolan wrote to the Vatican office in charge of the matter and recommended it kick Wagner out.

Last week Dolan called the Supreme Court's DOMA ruling a 'tragic day for marriage and our nation' that went against 'the common good of all, especially our children'

Last week Dolan called the Supreme Court's DOMA ruling a 'tragic day for marriage and our nation' that went against 'the common good of all, especially our children'

‘The liability for the Archdiocese is great as is the potential for scandal if it appears that no definitive action has been taken,’ he warned, adding that. Wagner showed no remorse, and ‘his only concern has been his financial status.’

Dolan said that if the Vatican agreed to dismiss Wagner, an archdiocese fund could pay for his needs until he was eligible for a pension. Dolan didn't receive a response until 2008, when he re-submitted his request along with details of new allegations against Wagner.

Archbishop Angelo Amato responded on behalf of the Vatican office and recommended Dolan ask Wagner to leave voluntarily, which Dolan did.

Wagner's attorney rejected the request, saying the $20,000 payment that Dolan offered wouldn't cover the priest's expenses for the two years until his retirement. Wagner wasn't officially defrocked until 2012.

Last week Dolan issued a joint press release calling the Supreme Court's DOMA ruling a ‘tragic day for marriage and our nation’ that went against ‘the common good of all, especially our children.’

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That money was paid in to take care of the cemeteries in perpetuity, not to be used for any other expenses be it lawsuits or paying salaries or building repair or feeding the poor.

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Weasel!

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Does anyone remember why Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses and launched the Protestant movement? Yup. It all goes back to the Catholic Church basically selling its soul, so to speak. Anyway, glad I'm Protestant. :)

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What else would you expect from a guy who oversees a bunch of sadistic boy-f__kers? Honesty? Fortitude?

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Well, he certainly has earned his 30 pieces of silver.

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And these are the very same people who are there to provide moral guidance? Seriously, you could not make it up.

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The Catholic Church is the most evil organization that has ever existed.

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These people have to rot in hell once they die, thats the only justice.

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It's always about the money.

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Because of his recent stand against Obama and many of the special interest groups he supports, I knew that a smear campaign was not far away. Of course many here will not look at all of the facts and think about why this information was just released.

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