Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Judge and diocese face destitute abuser priest dilemma

Wilmington, Delaware diocese, which has filed for bankruptcy, has sought court permission to pay health benefits to Francis DeLuca, a former priest who admitted abusing so many boys he could not remember them all.

When he was a priest, DeLuca molested boys after bingo games, on a trip to Italy and in the den of his living quarters, he said in an April 2009 deposition, Delaware Online reports.

DeLuca, 80, who is accused of abuse in 20 of the 132 lawsuits pending against the Diocese of Wilmington, is living on $415 a month in Social Security, according to Stephen Casarino, his attorney. That doesn't even cover his $500-a-month rent for an apartment.

Now, the diocese, which was forced to file for bankruptcy in October under the weight of civil lawsuits alleging clergy sexual abuse by DeLuca and others, wants to pay about $10,000 a month in combined benefits to him and five others accused of abuse.

Bankruptcy lawyers say it is the first time a diocese in bankruptcy has asked permission from a federal court to provide benefits to priests accused of sexual abuse.

In DeLuca's case, charity to the admitted abuser is a "corporal work of mercy," similar to feeding the hungry, the diocese says in court documents. Because such charity is the normal business of the church, the diocese is asking the court to let it provide $548 a month in medical benefits to DeLuca.

But abuse survivors who serve on the unsecured creditors committee in the bankruptcy case, including victims of DeLuca, are not sympathetic.
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