Bankruptcy proceedings by the Catholic Church on Long Island linked to clergy sexual abuse cases have gone on for nearly three years and piled up $70 million in legal fees, Newsday reported. Now, a federal judge says he may intervene to bring the process to an end — and effectively give clergy abuse survivors their day in court. Hon. Martin Glenn said during a court hearing in Manhattan that he may take the highly unusual step of ending the bankruptcy proceedings because the survivors and the Diocese of Rockville Centre can’t reach an agreement. That would send some 600 cases back to state court for civil trials. Lawyers for survivors called it a major step forward in their fight over hundreds of cases of abuse in the nation’s eighth-largest Roman Catholic diocese. The church said that it still hopes to reach an agreement and avoid potentially even more costly civil trials that could hobble its ability to carry out its mission. Judge Glenn said that he was not eager to set a precedent by becoming the first judge in the nation to kick a Catholic diocese out of bankruptcy. But he suggested he was prepared to do so. “The survivors deserve an opportunity to be heard by a jury of their peers,” he said. “They've been held off too long.” He indicated his decision will come no later than October, but lawyers for the survivors say the church is dragging its feet. (Subscription required.)
