New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who has been at the forefront of fomenting anti-gay hatred in New York and abroad, and has vehemently opposed advances in gay rights in the United States, moved fifty-seven million dollars in Vatican money into a cemetery fund to protect them from being awarded to victims of the widespread sexual abuse that has become a hallmark of the Catholic church in the United States, newly released documents show:
Files released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday reveal that in 2007, Cardinal Timothy F. Dolan, then the archbishop there, requested permission from the Vatican to move nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund to protect the assets from victims of clergy sexual abuse who were demanding compensation.
Cardinal Dolan, now the archbishop of New York, has emphatically denied seeking to shield church funds as the archbishop of Milwaukee from 2002 to 2009. He reiterated in a statement Monday that these were “old and discredited attacks.”
However, the files contain a 2007 letter to the Vatican in which he explains that by transferring the assets, “I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.” The Vatican approved the request in five weeks, the files show.
The release of more than 6,000 pages of documents on Monday was hailed by victims and their advocates as a vindication and a historic step toward transparency and accountability. They were well aware that the archives would bring unusually intense scrutiny to the country’s most high-profile prelate, Cardinal Dolan, who as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the archbishop of New York has sought to help the church turn the corner on the era of scandal.
The article goes on to point out that Dolan has, at least publicly, attempted to be a voice of reconciliation and apology as regards the Catholic sexual abuse scandals, but these documents show that Dolan’s true voice is one of abject hypocrisy. Moreover, this is just more evidence that the corruption in the Catholic church goes all the way to the top. Interestingly, the Milwaukee Archdiocese declared bankruptcy recently:
Cardinal Dolan was deposed about his handling of abuse cases and the assets of the archdiocese in February, just before he left for Rome for the conclave to elect a new pope. The release of the documents is the byproduct of a bitter standoff in bankruptcy court between the Milwaukee Archdiocese and 575 men and women who have filed claims against it alleging that priests or other church employees had sexually abused them.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying it was the best way to compensate the victims and resolve the controversy. It became the eighth Catholic diocese in the United States to do so. Since then, negotiations between the two sides in Milwaukee have broken down: the church has argued that about 400 of the 575 cases are invalid, while lawyers for the victims have accused the church of hiding assets.
What a scumbag.
[image via cathnewsusa.com]
