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January 27, 2005
Three insurance firms sue LA Catholic bishop over child sex abuse deals
January 27, 2005 [Agence France Presse]
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Three insurance firms have sued the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, accusing its leader of refusing to share information about alleged priestly sex abuse, a report said.
The companies have asked a judge to order Cardinal Roger Mahony to provide documents that could be used to relieve them of liability stemming from allegations by more than 535 people since the 1930s, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"For whatever reasons, the archbishop's apparent goal is to obviate any meaningful disclosure of the facts and circumstances of these claims, and yet to pressure (the insurers) to contribute enormous sums of money" to settle the cases, according to the lawsuit.
The 12-page complaint was filed by three members of American International Group Inc.: Insurance Co. of the State of Pennsylvania, Granite State Insurance Co. and American Home Assurance Co.
The three companies provided coverage for the church in the 1970s.
More than one billion dollars in damages could be assessed against the church, the insurance companies stated in the lawsuit, according to the Times.
"They have full access to the files," responded Mahony's lead lawyer, J. Michael Hennigan, according to the Times. "They are supposed to be on our side."
US Roman Catholic dioceses have seen their finances hit hard by waves of sexual abuse lawsuits filed against them since the child sex scandal broke in Boston, Massachusetts, in early 2002.
Three dioceses -- Spokane in Washington state, Portland in Oregon and Tucson in Arizona -- have filed for bankruptcy, while the Los Angeles area Diocese of Orange in December struck a record 100-million-dollar settlement deal with 87 alleged victims of its priests.
Posted by Nancy at January 27, 2005 08:30 PM