Baltimore workers and relatives attend a press conference to honor families and victims of the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by the container ship Dali, in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 29, 2024. / Credit:… […]
null / orgarashu / Shutterstock.
CNA Staff, Apr 9, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori on Monday attended a hearing at a U.S. bankruptcy court in which several witnesses testified on the abuse they endured at the hands of C… […]
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, vice-president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the USCCB’s fall meeting Nov. 15, 2023. / Credit: Joe Bukuras/CNA
CNA Staff, Apr 4, 2024 / 12:15 pm (CNA).
The Archdiocese of Baltimore is suing numerous insurers over their alleged failure to pay for abuse claims stretching back several decades.
The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in September of last year ahead of a state law that ended the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits for negligence concerning child sexual abuse. The law opened the archdiocese up to abuse allegations stretching back decades.
With the Chapter 11 filing, “the archdiocese will be reorganized, victim-survivors will be equitably compensated, and the Church will continue its mission and ministries,” Archbishop William Lori said at the time.
In a new court filing last week, meanwhile, the archdiocese alleged that nearly two dozen insurers “have failed to acknowledge, or will fail to acknowledge” their obligations to “pay for the defense of the archdiocese” and its parishes.
The insurers have also allegedly failed to acknowledge their obligation to “indemnify the archdiocese and/or parishes, including the funding of any settlements or judgments.”
The 22 named insurers have contracted with the archdiocese at various times since 1956, the filing said. The archdiocese itself “timely paid all premiums” related to the policies.
The alleged refusal of the insurers to pay out the insurance claims “constitutes a breach” of the policy agreements, the archdiocese said.
The filing asks the court to declare that the insurers are “obligated to pay in full” the “expenditures made by the archdiocese and parishes” pursuant to the claims.
The archdiocese said it was requesting a trial by jury on the matter if the court deemed it necessary.
Lori said last year that the bankruptcy filing was “the best path forward to compensate equitably all victim-survivors, given the archdiocese’s limited financial resources, which would have otherwise been exhausted on litigation.”
“Staggering legal fees and large settlements or jury awards for a few victim-survivors would have depleted our financial resources,” the prelate said at the time, ”leaving the vast majority of victim-survivors without compensation while ending ministries that families across Maryland rely on for material and spiritual support.”
The archdiocese joined more than two dozen other U.S. dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy in recent years.
Most recently, the Diocese of Sacramento filed for bankruptcy after more than 250 lawsuits alleging abuse by Church officials.
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the USCCB’s fall meeting Nov. 15, 2023. / Credit: Joe Bukuras/CNA
CNA Staff, Jan 31, 2024 / 13:25 pm (CNA).
The bishops of Maryland have written an open letter denouncing state legislators’ decision to consider an assisted-suicide bill and calling for “a better path forward.”
“We are deeply disappointed to learn that once again the Maryland General Assembly will debate whether to legalize physician-assisted suicide,” the Jan. 30 letter from the Maryland Catholic Conference said.
Assisted-suicide bills have been considered in Maryland since the 1990s — and most recently in 2023 — but have never passed.
Signed by Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, Washington archbishop Cardinal Wilton Gregory, and Wilmington Bishop William Koenig, the letter said that the bill “puts our most vulnerable brothers and sisters at risk of making decisions for themselves that are manipulated by factors such as disability, mental instability, poverty, and isolation.”
“Maryland has accurately recognized that suicide is a serious public health concern in the general population and has offered substantial resources to address the concern,” the letter said.
“At a time when our nation is grappling with how to address a frighteningly high suicide rate it is deeply illogical for the state of Maryland to be seeking ways to facilitate suicide for those with a terminal illness, all the while claiming such preventable and unnecessary deaths are somehow dignified,” the bishops continued.
The bill, titled the End-of-Life Option Act, was introduced in both the House and Senate in mid-January.
The legislation would allow individuals with a terminal illness to request assisted suicide from a physician.
Terminal illness is defined in the bill as “a medical condition that, within reasonable medical judgment, involves a prognosis for an individual that likely will result in the individual’s death within six months.”
The process for requesting “aid in dying” consists of making an oral request to one’s physician and then submitting a written request. The individual must then make another oral request to the physician at least 15 days after the first oral request and 48 hours after the written request. No one can request assisted suicide on behalf of the patient.
According to Death with Dignity, 11 states have legalized the practice: California; Maine; Oregon; Colorado; Montana; Vermont; Washington, D.C.; New Jersey; Washington; Hawaii; and New Mexico.
“For all legal rights and obligations, record-keeping purposes, and other purposes governed by the laws of the state, whether contractual, civil, criminal, or otherwise, the death of a qualified individual by reason of the self-administration of medication prescribed under this subtitle shall be deemed to be a death from natural causes, specifically as a result of the terminal illness from which the qualified individual suffered,” the legislation says.
In their letter, the bishops said: “The central tenet guiding our opposition to this deadly proposal is that all human life is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore sacred.”
They cited modern “medical advancements” that can be used to help individuals with terminal illnesses to be “comfortable and improve the quality of the remainder of their lives without them feeling the need to reluctantly choose a ‘dignified death.’”
The bishops called on Marylanders to improve end-of-life care, writing that “it is incumbent upon each of us to ensure that those at the end of their lives can experience a death that doesn’t include offering a form of suicide prescribed by a doctor.”
“We believe our elected officials should work to improve access to the network of care available to Maryland families by increasing access to palliative and hospice care, enhancing end-of-life education and training opportunities for physicians, and ensuring that there is appropriate diagnosis and treatment for depression and other mental and behavioral health issues,” the letter said.
They also pointed to the lack of “safeguards” in the bill.
“The proponents of this legislation claim that this policy offers an ‘option’ to a very small set of individuals who are suffering from a terminal illness with less than six months to live, claiming this option will help them maintain control and dignity during their final days on earth,” the letter said.
“This legislation ignores the reality facing many in such conditions and is woefully lacking in the types of meaningful safeguards that would prevent this unnecessary and drastic option,” the letter said. “Such safeguards include mandated mental health assessments, reporting requirements, safe disposal of unused medication, or prohibitions against expansion of this program.”
The letter said that in every state where assisted suicide has been legalized, “grave abuses and expansion have occurred,” which makes the lethal practice “available to far more people and not just those facing imminent death.”
“There is a better path forward for the people of Maryland, and it does not involve suicide,” the letter said.
“We urge all people of goodwill to demand that our lawmakers reject suicide as an end-of-life option and to choose the better, safer path that involves radical solidarity with those facing the end of their earthly journey,” the letter said.
In recent weeks, residents of Massachusetts and New York were also urged by bishops and pro-life advocates to oppose assisted-suicide bills upcoming in their states.
In Massachusetts, the “End of Life Options Act” says that “a terminally ill patient may voluntarily make an oral request for medical aid in dying and a prescription for medication” if the patient is a “mentally capable adult,” a resident of Massachusetts, and has been determined by a physician to be terminally ill.
In New York, the “Medical Aid in Dying Act” would also allow a terminally ill patient to request medication that would put an end to his life.
“Lawmakers need to hear from their constituents if we hope to avoid yet another assault on human life here. Assisted suicide is dangerous for patients, caregivers, and vulnerable populations such as the elderly and people with disabilities,” the New York State Catholic Conference said.
In Massachusetts, the pro-life group Massachusetts Citizens for Life told supporters that “the bill clashes with cultural, religious, and philosophical beliefs against intentionally ending human life.”
According to Death with Dignity, 16 other states are considering assisted suicide legislation in 2024.
Child at high risk of being trafficked and abused. / Eakachai Leesin/Shutterstock
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 5, 2023 / 15:15 pm (CNA).
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore apologized to abuse survivors on Wednesday following the release of… […]
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore speaks at the grand opening and blessing ceremony of Mother Mary Lange Catholic School in Baltimore, Md., Aug 6, 2021. / null
Washington D.C., Apr 4, 2023 / 15:42 pm (CNA).
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori … […]
A view of Baltimore’s Basilica nestled amid the city’s famed row houses / Public domain
St. Louis, Mo., Dec 6, 2022 / 15:30 pm (CNA).
A judge in Baltimore this week ordered all proceedings, filings, and communications related to the release of a major attorney general’s report on clerical sexual abuse to be made confidential.
Judge Anthony Vittoria of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City issued a confidentiality ruling Dec. 2 in response to a request from an anonymous group of people named in the report but who were not accused of abuse, the Baltimore Sun reported.
At issue is a 456-page report compiled by the office of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, consisting of information given by the Archdiocese of Baltimore along with information gathered from interviews that claims to identify more than 600 victims of clerical abuse in the archdiocese dating back eight decades. It is currently unclear whether the report will lead to any new criminal charges.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore, which is paying the legal fees for the anonymous group of individuals, said it “does not and will not oppose the report’s release.”
“We stated this fact last week, when we also pledged to support the rights of some people who are mentioned in the report but not accused of abuse — and were not given the ability to respond to the attorney general during the investigation,” Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore said in a Dec. 2 statement.
“Now they deserve to be heard by the court, and we will pay their legal fees to ensure they are heard. I find it necessary to clarify this fact, which we openly stated after Attorney General Frosh publicly released his motion requesting permission from the court to release his office’s report. This does not mean the archdiocese will in any way seek to keep the report from being made public, as some have suggested.”
In a 35-page legal motion dated Nov. 17, Frosh had asked permission from a judge to release the documents provided by the archdiocese, which were given in response to a January 2019 subpoena from a grand jury. Vittoria’s ruling retroactively seals all previous filings in the matter, including that motion to disclose the report, the Sun reported.
Going forward, the legal processes of releasing the full report will not be disclosed to the public because of the confidentiality order. Should the full report be released, it will likely be redacted.
Lori apologized to victims of abuse in a November letter and reiterated the archdiocese’s current zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse.
“Upon reading today’s motion, we feel renewed shame, deep remorse, and heartfelt sympathy, most especially to those who suffered from the actions of representatives of the very Church entrusted with their spiritual and physical well-being,” Lori said in a Nov. 17 statement.
“The information contained in the motion will no doubt be a source of renewed pain for many, most especially those harmed by representatives of the Church, for the lay faithful of our archdiocese, as well as for many good priests, deacons, and religious,” Lori said.
“Ever-aware of the pain endured by survivors of child sexual abuse, I once again offer my sincere apologies to the victim-survivors who were harmed by a minister of the Church and who were harmed by those who failed to protect them, who failed to respond to them with care and compassion and who failed to hold abusers accountable for their sinful and criminal behavior,” Lori added.
Frosh says the report names 115 priests who were prosecuted for sexual abuse and/or identified publicly by the archdiocese as having been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse. It also includes an additional 43 priests — 30 of whom are deceased, and the identities of the rest redacted — accused of sexual abuse “but not identified publicly by the archdiocese,” for a total of 158 names.
The archdiocese’s online list of credibly accused clergy includes 152 names, including many priests from other dioceses or religious orders and 17 religious brothers who served in or had a connection to the archdiocese, the Catholic Review reported. The list was last updated in June.
Addressing the apparent discrepancy between the number of priests named in the attorney general’s report and the number of credibly accused priests listed by the archdiocese, Lori said that the archdiocesan list does not include the names of priests or brothers who died before a single accusation of child abuse was received, unless the allegation could be corroborated by a third party or unless a second allegation was made against the same deceased cleric.
The U.S. bishops met in Baltimore for their annual fall general assembly on Nov. 14-17, 2022. / Katie Yoder/CNA
Baltimore, Md., Nov 18, 2022 / 13:35 pm (CNA).
The U.S. Catholic bishops are headed back to their dioceses after gathering in Baltim… […]
The Baltimore Basilica / Public domain
St. Louis, Mo., Nov 18, 2022 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
The Maryland attorney general’s office is seeking to release a major report chronicling information about Catholic clerics accused or prosecuted for sexual ab… […]
The March for Life in Washington, D.C., January 22, 2016. / Jeff Bruno.
Baltimore, Md., Nov 15, 2022 / 17:04 pm (CNA).
Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the chair of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities is encoura… […]
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