Diocese wants to pay benefits to pedophiles
By Associated Press

The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington is asking a bankruptcy judge to allow it to continue paying retiree benefits to priests who committed sexual abuse.

After filing for Chapter 11 protection last month, the diocese told the judge it would not make any payments to priests accused of sexual abuse, even if the abuse had not been substantiated, without a court order.

But in a filing late Thursday, the diocese said it has an obligation to care for retired clergy, including priests dismissed from public ministry but not yet defrocked.

The motion asks for permission to continue paying benefits to six confirmed pedophiles, including 80-year-old former priest

Francis DeLuca, who was defrocked after serving a jail term in New York for repeatedly abusing his grandnephew.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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