Abusive Clergy’s Personnel Files To Go Public In Milwaukee; Survivors Want More

Sexual assault victims say the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese ought to release more documents about clergy abuse cases than planned next Monday.

A deal reached in the archdiocese bankruptcy case in federal court in Milwaukee calls for the church to release personnel files of 45 priests with verified abuse claims against them. Also to be released are depositions from several church officials – including New York cardinal Tim Dolan, who used to lead the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

But Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests says the church ought to release more files, including ones about current abusers.

Isely: “They were clergy. They committed their crimes here. Some of them have been in prison recently. Not on the list, don’t have the files. Why? That’s our question.”

The Milwaukee Archdiocese is warning that the files the church is releasing next week contain graphic material. The church has apologized for many abuse cases, but has been spending millions of dollars fighting fraud allegations in the now two-and-a-half year bankruptcy battle.