David Hammer

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | David Hammer

The Catholic archbishop of New Orleans made a rare in-person appearance in federal bankruptcy court on Friday, days after announcing a potential agreement to settle claims with hundreds of clergy abuse survivors that has been met with pushback from some of the plaintiffs.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Ramon Vargas |David Hammer

Some attorneys involved in the bankrupt New Orleans Catholic archdiocese’s federal financial reorganization say they have reached terms on an agreement to settle decades’ worth of clergy molestation claims, but lawyers representing a sizeable share out of more than 600 abuse claimants contend the proposed deal falls short by about $100m – and they’re hoping they have the votes to block its approval.

1 month ago | theguardian.com | David Hammer

A group of attorneys representing clergy abuse survivors is ramping up pressure to get the archbishop of New Orleans, Gregory Aymond, under oath before a judge decides whether to kick the church out of bankruptcy. Lawyers for hundreds of survivors filed a motion Wednesday to end the church’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a day before the fifth anniversary of a case that’s paid none of about 500 survivors but has cost the archdiocese around $45m in legal and professional fees.

1 month ago | theguardian.com | David Hammer

In a major development for the second-oldest Catholic diocese in the country, a US bankruptcy judge has ordered the Archdiocese of New Orleans to appear in court in June and show why its five-year-old bankruptcy case should not be dismissed. Judge Meredith Grabill’s order suggests little concrete progress has been made since 13 September 2024, when the archdiocese and a committee representing more than 500 clergy abuse claimants filed competing plans for settling the bankruptcy.

1 month ago | ca.news.yahoo.com | Ramon Vargas |David Hammer

The clergy abuse survivor who helped prosecutors secure the only conviction against a notorious child rapist and retired Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans is still hoping that authorities file criminal charges against his former high school principal and everyone else who enabled the clergyman. “Everybody that had any part … needs to be held accountable.