By: Tony Perry

A threat by the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego to file for bankruptcy in the face of lawsuits by people alleging they were sexually abused by priests is an attempt to prevent disclosure about the diocese covering up for such priests, an attorney representing alleged victims said Monday.

"It's a bad idea for the church," attorney Irwin Zalkin said. "It's nothing but a way to protect this bishop and his predecessors -- to keep the truth from coming out."

In a letter to parishioners released Sunday, Bishop Robert H. Brom says the diocese is considering filing for Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court because of lawsuits filed on behalf of 143 people.

The first of the lawsuits is set to begin trial next week. Filing for bankruptcy on the eve of trial is a strategy used by other Roman Catholic dioceses faced with such lawsuits.

Filing a Chapter 11 petition would block the lawsuits from going to court but would begin a round of complex -- and costly -- wrangling in bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy judge could order negotiations between the diocese and lawyers representing alleged victims.

So far, pretrial negotiations in the San Diego cases, overseen by a judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court, have failed to reach a settlement.

Zalkin, who is representing 45 of the alleged victims, said nearly five years of negotiations had shown him the diocese was more interested in protecting its records and high officials than in compensating victims.

Psychotherapist A.W. Richard Sipe, of La Jolla, a former Benedictine monk and now an expert on priests who became sexual predators, said he agreed with Zalkin that publicity, not money, was motivating the bankruptcy threat. Sipe has served as a witness in cases across the United States.

"I'm convinced Bishop Brom does not want the information that would come out at trial to come out," he said.

The bankruptcy threat also could be a negotiating tactic. In Dallas, victims won a $119 million court judgment, but, after the archdiocese there threatened bankruptcy, they settled for $31 million.

Nationwide, the average settlement is about $1.3 million per claim. Brom, in his letter to parishioners, said the San Diego lawsuits, if successful, could require payments totaling as much as $200 million.

"I feel I've been victimized again," said a woman who alleges she was molested for several years by her parish priest starting at age 8. "They're just trying to hide it again -- like they did years ago when they sent these priests from parish to parish."

Zalkin alleges that the San Diego diocese often allowed priests who had been accused of sexually molesting parishioners elsewhere to transfer to San Diego and then moved them to different parishes when new allegations surfaced.

Mary Grant, western regional director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said, "Threats of bankruptcy are designed to guilt-trip victims and frighten Catholics so that testimony isn't given, the truth isn't exposed and the church isn't held accountable."

SNAP members sought to meet with Brom on Monday but were denied. Instead they left a letter at the diocese asking that they be allowed to send their own letter to parishioners.

The San Diego diocese, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, has 98 churches, runs 50 schools and has nearly 1 million parishioners.

Church leaders assert that parishes, and the real estate beneath them, should not be considered diocese assets, a controversial legal point.

The church also asserts that Canon Law prohibits it from using parish money -- donations given each Sunday by the faithful -- to settle lawsuits. Brom has promised his parishioners that money contributed "for the mission of the church" will not be used.

Zalkin said that the San Diego diocese is one of the richest in the United States and that, aside from its own assets, it has the protection of the Catholic Mutual Group insurance fund.

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