BishopAccountability.org
	Parishes Drained by Molestation Suit Settlements By Kim Curtis The Associated Press, caaried in Modesto Bee [California] March 27, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO — Roman Catholic leaders say they want to do the right thing for clergy abuse victims, but church financial statements suggest some dioceses may not be able to afford many more payments like the $437,000 awarded Thursday in the first of more than 750civil suits to go to trial in California. Both the San Francisco and Oakland dioceses have been spending more cash than they've been collecting in recent years, which leaves them ill-prepared for a wave of potentially large judgments, according to audited financial statements for 2002 and 2003 reviewed by The Associated Press. With about $56 million in cash and liquid assets, San Francisco could likely weather a moderate financial hit. The San Francisco diocese listed $99.7 million in total assets through June 2003, which includes such hard-to-sell assets as churches and other real estate. The Oakland diocese is less financially secure, judging from its financial statements — it has about $39 million in easily accessible cash and assets and about $54 million in all. Just how much each diocese can expect their insurers to pay isn't publicly known. Neither diocese would discuss its insurance coverage. But they may be particularly hard pressed if juries award punitive damages, which by law must be paid by the churches and not their insurers. Cases closely watched The civil suit filed by former altar boy Dennis Kavanaugh was the first to go to trial from among more than 750 filed against Roman Catholic dioceses across California after the state temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for filing sex-abuse claims in 2002. The Oakland diocese is next up, with opening statements Monday in the case of two brothers who said they were repeatedly molested. Both cases are being closely watched by everyone with a stake in the hundreds of other civil suits, which are proceeding to trial across California despite settlement talks that have so far been fruitless. Most problematic for the dioceses is that jurors decide awards based on feelings as much as facts, said Patrick Schiltz, who teaches at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minnesota and who has defended churches in more than 500 sex abuse cases. "They're pure emotional injury cases infused with sex and religion," he said. "To say they pick a number out of the air would only be a slight exaggeration." The San Francisco jury decided on $437,000 after less than five hours of deliberations. A lawyer for the archdiocese had told the jury $200,000 to $365,000 would be proper. Kavanaugh had asked for unspecified damages from the church, which he said knew or should have known that he was being molested by the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard in San Jose. The award was substantially less than the $30 million his lawyer, Larry Drivon, won in 1998 on behalf of two Turlock brothers, James and John Howard, who sued the Diocese of Stockton for abuse inflicted by a priest. A judge later reduced that award, and in 1999 that diocese agreed to pay $7.65 million. It's also less per claim than the $100 million the Diocese of Orange agreed to pay in December to settle 90 sex abuse claims. But Drivon, who is pursuing hundreds of cases statewide, said it's "not about the money." "I don't think this is precedent for anything. These cases are all individual. I'm not exhilarated. I'm not disappointed. I'm not anything," Drivon said. A delicate balance Church leaders have tried to prepare parishioners for the effect of more clergy abuse payouts. "If our efforts in the mediation process lead to a settlement, or if juries decide on large financial awards after trials, the result will very likely put substantial financial pressure on the Archdiocese of San Francisco," Archbishop William Levada said in a letter read during Masses last month. The archdiocese must balance its moral obligation to victims with its obligation to provide parishes, schools and social services "for all who need them," he said. In Oakland, Bishop Allen Vigneron apologized for past abuse and promised to prevent future abuse. "I am working, to the best of my ability, to see that we resolve these lawsuits in a way that is fair to the victim survivors and is in accord with the principles of good stewardship over the resources of the Church in Oakland," Vigneron wrote in the diocese's newspaper. On Monday, jurors will hear opening statements in the case of Bob and Tom Thatcher, who say their childhood priest, the Rev. Robert Ponciroli, abused them in 1980. A judge already has ruled they may seek punitive damages. If the jury agrees, a large award could bankrupt the Oakland diocese. "Jurors tainted by publicity think churches, especially the Catholic church, has more money than it does. ... They look very wealthy on paper," Schiltz said. "They think the bishop is writing the check or there's a big, giant savings account somewhere," he added. "When there isn't insurance coverage, the people who pay these verdicts aren't the bishops or priests, it's the innocent parishioners or the people showing up at soup kitchens."