The Archdiocese of Milwaukee said in court documents that it is hemorrhaging money on legal and professional fees as a result of its bankruptcy and will be unable to pay its monthly operating expenses beginning in April unless the judge suspends those payments, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Friday. The archdiocese filed a motion asking Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley to allow it to suspend all payments to attorneys and consultants, except $125,000 for work on its plan of reorganization. And it would continue to pay its own attorneys to challenge sex-abuse claims with proceeds from its insurance carriers. James Stang, lead attorney for the bankruptcy creditors committee, said that he had not had a chance to discuss the motion with his colleagues, but he blamed the cost of the bankruptcy - nearly $9 million in fees paid to date - on the archdiocese's aggressive efforts to throw out hundreds of sex abuse claims.
