Victim Withdraws Suit Against Vatican In Favor of Bankruptcy Proceedings

Now that sex abuse victim claims have all been filed (see prior posting) in the bankruptcy proceedings of the the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Archdiocese reports that in bankruptcy court proceedings on Feb. 9:

The judge ruled that the claimants could no longer bring a negligence claim against the archdiocese.  It also found that the claimant seeking to upset a prior settlement failed to meet the high standard under Wisconsin law to upset the settlement and disallowed the claim.  The judge determined that the question of whether the fraud claims should be dismissed on statute of limitations grounds needed to be considered in further proceedings that would determine the factual issues.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported yesterday that in response to the court's allowing the fraud claims to proceed to trial, a lawsuit filed in 2010 (see prior posting) against the Holy See, the Pope, and two Vatican cardinals has been withdrawn.  The suit sought damages because of sexual abuse plaintiff suffered in the early 1960's at the hands of Rev. Lawrence Murphy who taught at St. John's School for the Deaf in suburban Milwaukee. Jeffrey Anderson, attorney for the plaintiff, who also represents victims in the bankruptcy proceedings, said that his client "felt that his energies would be best spent working alongside fellow survivors toward justice and healing at the archdiocese level." Presumably the plaintiff has filed a claim in the bankruptcy proceedings.