Archbishop's  Column  by  Archbishop John G. Vlazny

Archbishop’s Column
7/16/04

July 6 is the feast of St. Maria Goretti. Maria was canonized by Pope Pius XII back in 1950 when I was a youngster. She was slain by her would-be rapist when she would not succumb to his efforts to violate her chastity. She was only twelve years old.

July 6 was also the day when the Archdiocese of Portland was scheduled to appear in court to face two more charges of sexual abuse by Father Maurice Grammond. His two victims were also youngsters, like St. Maria Goretti. Interestingly, when St. Maria was canonized, her mother and her slayer knelt side by side at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. That is the kind of healing and reconciliation which the Church continues to work and pray for in dealing with all the victims of our recent child sexual abuse scandal. The actions we took that day in court were an effort to continue providing healing and reconciliation for all victims.

You now know that, rather than face the charges of these two victims in court, the archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization in bankruptcy court. I had first mentioned this possibility back in February, 2003, when the claims against us were mounting. I then promised that we would do our best to compensate victims and to avoid filing for bankruptcy. We tried our best.

The goal of our Catholic community in dealing with these terrible crimes has been to assure the protection of our children for the future and also to provide healing and reconciliation for victims of the past. You know that over the past four years we have settled more than 100 claims in this regard. Our archdiocese last year alone paid nearly 21 million dollars from its own funds. Our major insurers have not assisted in this effort and we were left virtually alone to face the consequences. The Multnomah County Court gave us one year to settle or go to trial.

As it turned out, by early 2004 three cases involving Father Maurice Grammond remained unsettled. A trial date of July 6 in Multnomah County Court was set. We continued our efforts to settle these claims and one finally was resolved during the final weeks before trial. But, for reasons known only to plaintiffs and their attorneys, the other two refused to settle and we were forced to prepare for trial. The demands in the two cases were excessive, 130 million dollars for one and 25 million dollars for the other. The fact that the judge allowed plaintiffs to seek punitive damages obviously inflated the demands. Because of the claims for punitive damages the court would also allow claims against other priests involving other victims to be presented in court which inevitably would exacerbate matters for us and raise the stakes for damages.

Four days before the scheduled trial, after extensive consultation with our attorneys and staff, I recognized that settlement would be impossible and that only two options remained: trial or bankruptcy proceedings. Why did we sidestep the trial and why were we willing to risk the proceedings in bankruptcy court? These are reasonable questions that most people have been asking.

On the day before the trial the Oregonian reported that only seven cases involving the Catholic Church and victims of child sexual abuse have actually gone to court. The Church was the loser every time. I was involved in one of those cases when I served as Bishop of Winona. There I learned that not only are defendants at great risk in a jury trial, but many others also suffer along with the defendants. If these two victims had prevailed and received huge compensatory and punitive damages through a jury verdict, other victims would be left in the lurch. The funds of the archdiocese were already diminished as a result of all the settlements of the previous years. Our insurers had refused to cooperate in settlements. We still must pursue them to fulfill their responsibilities.

The proceedings would undoubtedly be lengthy and would clearly become a media event both locally and nationally. This would certainly be a source of pain and humiliation for all our Catholic people. This public airing of the sins of our fathers as well as any defense our attorneys would offer could be hurtful to the victims involved and to all other victims as well. They would relive their own pain and suffer vicariously as the details of the trial would unfold in the nightly news. No one becomes a winner in such a situation and certainly healing and reconciliation would be postponed for a long time.

It is true that in filing for bankruptcy we are entering uncharted waters. But our attorneys, my staff, the Archdiocesan Finance Council and the Archdiocesan Board of Consultors saw other possibilities. First of all, bankruptcy proceedings would give us an opportunity to bring some closure to all these matters and to serve the just demands of all victims. In bankruptcy court all the victims who have presented their unresolved claims against the archdiocese will have a chance to share in the funds made available as compensation for their damages. The archdiocese would have an opportunity to create a fund which would assist victims who have not yet come forward and who might otherwise be forever excluded if we waited until there was absolutely no possibility of providing compensation.

Furthermore, the financial situation of the archdiocese would become manageable once again. Insurance carriers can perhaps be brought to the table for settlement. Opportunities for borrowing funds, which have become practically nil in recent months, would also present themselves again.
Last but not least, the Catholic Church of western Oregon would have an opportunity to continue its important evangelizing mission with some measure of security and without the necessary distractions that go hand in hand with litigation.

This was probably one of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make. I know it has not been received well by some. I am grateful to all who have expressed their understanding and support as we do indeed try our best to protect children and to provide healing and reconciliation for victims. Victims deserve a hearing and just compensation. Children must be protected. Healing and reconciliation are important and necessary outcomes for all people of faith and good will.

Litigation was necessary to heighten the awareness of the extent of these crimes and to make the church and society more responsive to those who have suffered such travesties. But trials really serve no purpose when there is admission of responsibility. Reasonable people come together and resolve their grievances and differences.

As the pastor of this archdiocese, I apologize once again to all victims and to all of you who in any way have been scandalized by these developments. We are in a much better place today. We are providing a safe environment for children and we are committed to helping victims achieve some measure of serenity and reconciliation with all persons involved, even the perpetrators of the crimes.
 

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