Newfoundland diocese goes bankrupt.St. George's Noun 1. St. George's - the capital and largest city of Grenada capital of Grenada Grenada - an island state in the West Indies in the southeastern Caribbean Sea; an independent state within the British Commonwealth , NL--The priest sex abuse crisis that has affected the church in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. for more than two decades has claimed its first financial victim from Canada. Three US dioceses have already declared bankruptcy bankruptcy, in law, settlement of the liabilities of a person or organization wholly or partially unable to meet financial obligations. The purposes are to distribute, through a court-appointed receiver, the bankrupt's assets equitably among creditors and, in most . On May 7, Bishop Douglas Crosby revealed that he would have to follow their example. Following a lengthy court case, the Diocese DIOCESE, eccl. law. The district over which a bishop exercises his spiritual functions. 1 B1. Com. 111. of St. George's in western Newfoundland has agreed to liquidate To pay and settle the amount of a debt; to convert assets to cash; to aggregate the assets of an insolvent enterprise and calculate its liabilities in order to settle with the debtors and the creditors and apportion the remaining assets, if any, among the stockholders or owners of the its assets in order to settle civil claims against it. A total of $13 million has been awarded to the abuse claimants and the diocese is prepared to sell off over 130 churches, office halls, convents and the Bishop's own house. Many of the 40 claimants still live in the area and will receive from $75,000 to $1 million compensation. Of the 40 men, 38 were victims of Fr. Kevin Bennett, who was convicted on 1990 and who served five years of a 25-year sentence for the crimes. He still lives in the region on a Church pension. Many of the 29,000 diocese parishioners are in shock over the settlement but their bishop remains hopeful. Accepting the court's decision, Bishop Crosby, who has already offered an apology apology [Gr.,=defense], literary work that defends, justifies, or clarifies an author's ideas or point of view. Unlike the ordinary use of the word, the literary use neither implies that wrong has been done nor expresses regret. and met with the victims, says, "We really want them to be compensated fairly. He hopes to get past it and "get on with life." He has received some offers of help from other parts of North America in buying back some churches. "We will survive, though diminished," was his final comment. (Catholic Register, May 29; Toronto Star/CTV July 6, 2005). |
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