The North American branch of the Christian Brothers, a Roman Catholic order that runs schools throughout the world, has filed for bankruptcy protection amid mounting sexual abuse claims against US and Canadian members.
Although the bankruptcy filing was made in New York, where the brothers’ North American chapter is headquartered, the bulk of the abuse claims come from the Seattle area, said Michael Patterson, a lawyer for the Catholic Archdiocese in Seattle.
“It’s a sad day. We’re very disappointed that it reached this level,” Patterson said on Thursday night. “We had hoped that we could have partnered with the Christian Brothers to settle claims. What this means is that victims now have to deal with this out of bankruptcy court.”
He said he did not know the extent of the claims.
However, lawyers for the plaintiffs in lawsuits against the Christian Brothers said its members, who are not ordained as priests, sexually abused scores of children in the US and Canada.
Seattle attorney Michael Pfau said on Thursday he has settled more than 50 abuse cases for a total of US$25.6 million, paid out to victims in the past five years by the order and the Seattle Archdiocese.
About 35 of those cases originated with the now-defunct Briscoe Memorial School, an orphanage and boarding school jointly run by the archdiocese and Christian Brothers in Kent, Washington.
“There were rapes, molestations and beatings. The brothers carried long leather straps. It was a very abusive place,” Pfau said.
Most lawsuits still pending involve allegations of sexual abuse at schools and orphanages the Brothers owned and operated in Washington state and Canada, he said, adding that the order filed for bankruptcy in a bid to shield its assets in Rome.
A spokesman for the order reached by telephone on Thursday declined to comment.
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