Secret Files on Abusive Priests in Oregon Will be Released

c. 2007 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ The Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., has agreed to release secret files on abusive priests as part of its $75 million plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection. The files, which won’t be made public until May, will paint the most detailed picture to date of what archdiocese officials […]

c. 2007 Religion News Service

PORTLAND, Ore. _ The Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., has agreed to release secret files on abusive priests as part of its $75 million plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

The files, which won’t be made public until May, will paint the most detailed picture to date of what archdiocese officials knew about sexually abusive priests in Oregon during the past 50 years and what they did about it.


Kelly Clark, a lawyer who represents dozens of men and women who have reached financial settlements with the archdiocese, said many of his clients could not be satisfied until the record of clergy sexual abuse in western Oregon was revealed.

Clark said “secret archives of secret crimes and secret shame will be made public for the community to see and understand.”

He said that although they had been able to identify documents concerning fewer than a dozen priests in the short time since the settlement, “I am quite confident that the process we have agreed to undertake will result in a virtually comprehensive release of the archives.”

The documents will be released after a May trial involving the Rev. Michael Sprauer, who is accused of sexually abusing nearly 20 boys when he served as chaplain at a juvenile detention facility in the early 1970s.

John Rickman, member of the Committee of Parishes and Parishioners, agreed that it was important to release the documents. “These stories will be difficult for Catholics to hear, but ones that we must all deal with. And we hope that this openness will begin the healing process and an understanding for all those involved.” Rickman’s committee was set up to represent the interests of local parishes in the bankruptcy case.

The agreement on the documents was announced Tuesday (April 17) after a judge’s final approval of the archdiocese’s bankruptcy plan. The settlement ends nearly three years of uncertainty that started when Portland became the first archdiocese in the country to seek bankruptcy protection from sexual abuse lawsuits.

The plan pays more than $50 million to about 175 people who claim they were sexually abused by Roman Catholic clergy. It also sets aside another $20 million for sex-abuse victims who have not come forward yet.


Archbishop John G. Vlazny once again apologized to the victims of clergy abuse. He also said his door remained open to them.

“It is my sincere prayer that our ability to compensate the many victims will assist them in their efforts to find personal healing and peace of heart. I pray for them every day. And I know that the Catholic people of Oregon join me in asking God to bless them.”

Before seeking bankruptcy protection, the archdiocese and its insurers paid more than $53 million to settle with about 140 accusers during the past 50 years. The bankruptcy plan brings the totals to more than $105 million in settlements with about 315 accusers.

No school or church assets will be used to pay the settlements. The archdiocese also will reorganize its schools and churches to insulate them in the case of future litigation.

The finalization of the bankruptcy lifted a gag order that has prevented archdiocese officials, priest accusers and their attorneys from talking about the process since last August.

Despite their freedom to speak, most priest accusers did not attend the Tuesday announcement. Matt Clemens, a 39-year-old engineer from Hillsboro, Ore., who has accused a priest of sexually abusing him when he was a teenager, said he was pleased that the proceeding was over.


“It was very validating for me,” he said.

(Ashbel S. Green and Steve Woodward write for The Oregonian in Portland, Ore.)

DSB/LF END GREEN

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