Legal Motion Filed by Creditors' Committee (4/13/11)

The following is Archbishop Listecki's weekly e-mail communication, "Love One Another," sent to the faithful of southeastern Wisconsin on April 13, 2011.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we continue the process of Chapter 11 Reorganization, various voices are emerging, making claims about the financial resources, funds and trusts of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. For instance, in yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, you may have read about a legal motion that was filed by the creditors’ committee in the reorganization proceeding, seeking permission to hire a financial auditing firm.

In a bankruptcy proceeding, the “creditors” (in this case, victims/survivors) are represented by a committee appointed by the Office of the United States Trustee. Legal counsel is appointed by the court to represent the committee and that legal counsel, by law, is paid for by the debtor – the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The committee has the ability to request professional assistance with the approval of the court. The motion requests permission to hire a financial advisor. The fees for those professionals (at up to $650 per hour), would also be paid for by the debtor (the archdiocese).

It is important for you to know that clear, factual financial information is now (and has been) readily available in financial reports on the archdiocesan website. I also want to assure you that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has been forthright in sharing complete financial information with the attorneys for victims/survivors – prior to the Chapter 11 proceeding (in the mediation process) and currently in the Chapter 11 proceeding through the required court reporting.

In addition, at my direction, attorneys for the archdiocese have been voluntarily, cooperatively and proactively working with the creditors’ committee to develop an informal and cost-effective way to share information (as long as we can assure the privacy of victims/survivors is maintained).

The bottom line is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee welcomes a fair and unbiased review of our financial statements. Our financial statements are audited annually by outside, professional auditors and publicly posted on the archdiocesan website, and those statements document archdiocesan financial transactions.

In a high profile case like this one, there is a temptation to allow the media to become the arbiter of the issues being raised when that is the role of the Court. We intend to ask the Court whether the committee should be permitted to spend our already limited resources on reviewing financial statements and information that has already been made available in a transparent and straightforward way.

In the meantime, I want to assist you and your parishioners in understanding the facts and details involved beyond the headlines and sound bites you may hear or read in the media. Complete financial information is available on the homepage of the archdiocese’s website and questions can be directed to reorg@archmil.org.

Wishing you all the blessings of this Lenten season, and reminding you of Jesus’ command to Love One Another, I am,

In His Name,

Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee