KEVIN O’CONNOR/VTDigger教堂律师表示，佛蒙特州罗马天主教教区本周迎来了其申请第11章财务重组计划两周年纪念日，该教区正请求美国破产法院法官驳回其破产案。截至目前，该案已耗费200万美元的法律费用，且“看不到尽头”。
KEVIN O’CONNOR/VTDigger Vermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese is marking this week’s second anniversary of its request for a Chapter 11 financial reorganization plan by asking a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to dismiss its case, which so far has cost $2 million in legal fees “with no end in sight,” church lawyers said.
该州最大的宗教派别于2024年9月30日首次发出求助申请。当时该教区表示，此前近70起神职人员不当行为和解协议使其资金减半至约3500万美元，同时还有100多起可追溯至1950年的其他虐待索赔尚未解决。
The state’s largest religious denomination had filed its initial call for help on Sept. 30, 2024, when it said a past series of nearly 70 priest misconduct settlements had reduced its monetary holdings by half — to about $35 million — with more than 100 other abuse claims dating as far back as 1950 yet to be resolved.
两年后的周一和周二，教会及其债权人（其中包括100多名神职人员虐待索赔人）的律师举行了非公开调解会议。教区在提交给法院的文件中写道，在这些会议结束时，教区向债权人提出了总额达2940万美元的集体和解方案，平均每位索赔人可获得24.7万美元。
Two years later, attorneys for the church and its creditors — who include more than 100 claimants of clergy abuse — held private mediation sessions on Monday and Tuesday. At the end of those meetings, the diocese offered creditors a proposed $29.4 million collective settlement that would average $247,000 per claimant, it wrote in a court filing.
其律师称，代表债权人的官方委员会拒绝了教区的提议。该委员会在周末得知，法院准备审理索赔人相关诉讼，该诉讼旨在索取教区于2006年放入信托基金以获得保护的、估计另外价值5亿美元的当地堂区资产。
An official committee representing creditors declined the diocese’s offer, its lawyers said, having learned over the weekend that the court was set to consider the claimants’ related lawsuit seeking access to an additional estimated $500 million in local parish assets the church sheltered in trusts in 2006 .
法院记录显示，周三，教区作出回应，请求驳回第11章破产案。为了该案，教区已花费200万美元支付给其自身律师以及联邦法律要求的债权人律师。
On Wednesday, the diocese responded by requesting dismissal of the Chapter 11 case, for which it has spent $2 million for its attorneys and, as required by federal law, counsel for creditors, court records show.
常驻伯灵顿的法官海瑟·库珀已将关于教区请求的听证会定于12月8日举行。
Burlington-based Judge Heather Cooper has set a hearing on the diocese’s request for Dec. 8.
教会律师在提交的文件中写道：“教区认为，继续在本案中进行调解不会产生效果或取得成功。”
“The diocese does not believe continued mediation in this case will be productive or successful,” church counsel wrote in its filing.
“终止破产程序将有助于节约教会资源，”相关声明继续写道，“同时让教区及受害者能够通过其他途径解决问题，从而避免因破产程序所产生的高昂费用。”对此，债权人表示他们将反对这一决定。
“Dismissal,” it continued, “will preserve (church) resources and allow the diocese and the survivors to pursue resolution through alternative means, free from the mounting costs of Chapter 11 administration.”In response, creditors said they would oppose the move.
“教区并非被迫提起诉讼，”委员会法律顾问布列塔尼·迈克尔在一份声明中称，“而是选择通过法律途径来解决所有问题，然后将责任推给其他人。”丹尼尔·斯塔克是委员会成员之一；当教区申请破产保护时，针对他的神职人员虐待行为的诉讼曾被暂时搁置。
“The diocese is not being forced to litigate,” committee counsel Brittany Michael said in a statement. “It is choosing to litigate every issue the hard way and then blaming the bill on everyone else.”Daniel Stack is one of several committee members whose clergy abuse claims were put on hold when the diocese filed for Chapter 11 protection.
“两年前，在我的审判前夕，教区试图逃避责任，并声称只有通过破产程序才能公平地对待受害者，”斯塔克在声明中说道。如今，“教区却想彻底退出这一程序。这种行为根本不符合一个诚信运作的机构的应有态度，这实际上是他们第二次试图逃避责任。”根据联邦法律，任何财务重组计划都必须获得法院和债权人的批准。
“Two years ago, the diocese avoided accountability on the eve of my trial and said bankruptcy was necessary for survivors to be treated fairly,” Stack said in a statement. Now, “the diocese wants to leave the process altogether. That is not the conduct of an institution acting in good faith, it is a second attempt to avoid accountability.”Under federal law , any financial reorganization plan requires approval by both the court and creditors.
如果在请求帮助的两周年纪念日（即本周）之前未能提交可行的重组计划，法院将终止破产程序。然而，这样做并不会改善教区的财务状况；相反，那些因破产程序而被搁置的虐待诉讼将会重新启动，教会和受害者将不得不面对一系列单独的民事诉讼。
Ending the bankruptcy court proceedings without an agreement won’t erase the diocese’s challenging financial picture. Instead, it will revive the abuse lawsuits sidelined by the Chapter 11 filing and send the church and abuse claimants into a series of individual civil trials.
法官原本计划在今年夏天结束这起案件的处理。她曾表示，如果教区未能在截止日期前提交可行的财务重组计划，她将拒绝教区的重组申请。
The judge had aimed to draw the case to a close this summer when she threatened to reject the church’s bid to reorganize its finances if a viable plan wasn’t submitted by this week’s two-year anniversary of requesting help.
“我担心的是，我不希望这些钱全都流向专业人士，”库珀在谈到由教会资金支付律师费时说道。“不过，我确实认为，最终幸存者可能希望还能剩下一些钱。”就在上周末，法官暗示，她将审理债权人提起的一起诉讼，要求获取的不仅是教区在州层面持有的银行存款和房地产，还包括估计价值5亿美元的当地堂区财产和资产。
“My concern is that I don’t want it all going to the professionals,” Cooper said of church funds paying for lawyers. “I do think that the survivors probably would like to have something left over at the end of the day.”Then this past weekend, the judge signaled she was set to hear a lawsuit by creditors seeking access to not only the diocese’s state-level bank and building assets but also an estimated half-billion dollars in local parish property and possessions.
法官就近70个堂区存在争议的资产写道：“如果不能达成和解，未来可能还要经历多年诉讼，并花掉数百万美元的律师费和相关费用，而这些钱本来可以用来支付确有依据的虐待索赔。”法院还应教区请求，将于11月举行证据听证会，讨论教区以430万美元将其位于南伯灵顿的旗舰学校赖斯纪念高中出售给支持者的请求——该价格仅为教会委托评估价3050万美元的14%。
“Unless settled,” the judge has written of the contested assets of nearly 70 parishes, “there may be years of litigation ahead and millions of dollars spent in attorneys’ fees and costs that could have paid (for) valid abuse claims.”The court also had scheduled an evidentiary hearing for November on the diocese’s request to sell its flagship Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington to supporters for $4.3 million — or 14% of a church-commissioned appraisal of $30.5 million.
围绕当地堂区资产的诉讼以及出售赖斯中学的请求，目前仍列在法院的审理日程中。
Both the lawsuit over local parish assets and request to sell Rice remain on the court calendar.
自2002年全国性神职人员不当行为丑闻曝光以来，佛蒙特州这家教会是美国44个投入时间和资金寻求《破产法》第11章保护的天主教机构之一。
The Vermont church is one of 44 U.S. Catholic entities to spend time and money seeking Chapter 11 protection since news of a nationwide priest misconduct scandal broke in 2002.
据新闻报道，纽约州罗克维尔中心教区在此类案件中支出的法律费用最高，四年间花费超过1亿美元，该案于2024年解决。新奥尔良总教区以五年间近600万美元的费用位居第二，该案于2025年解决；密尔沃基总教区则以四年半间2300万美元的费用位居第三，该案于2015年解决。
The Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York has reported the highest legal fees for such a case, at more than $100 million over four years before resolution in 2024, according to news reports. The Archdiocese of New Orleans is second at nearly $60 million over five years before resolution in 2025, while the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is third at $23 million over 4½ years before resolution in 2015.
本文最初由VTDigger发布，并通过与美联社的合作进行传播。
This story was originally published by VTDigger and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.