The insurance industry, meanwhile, is still talking about whether the cases of sex abuse still out there are covered by general liability insurance. I don’t blame them. If I were potentially on the hook for a billion dollars worth of lawsuits because of the stupidity or malice of handful of bishops and their underlings, I’d be hesitant to want to pay off on that.
For insurers involved in this marketplace, he said, there is a potential for significant exposures. Currently, Mr. Leahy noted, there are some 900 clergy sexual abuse cases against the U.S. Roman Catholic church in the state of California alone.
But Mr. Leahy said that while the insureds believe they are insured for these losses, there are strong disagreements among many of the insurers on that point.
“Nobody knows what the ultimate outcome of these cases will be. There is a great deal of controversy over whether they are covered or not. These are difficult claims and no one has any idea of what the eventual outcome will be,” Mr. Leahy said.
Domenico, when I am old and ready to retire, I want to come live with you. It will be win-win: I get to eat like a god, you get in-home daily Mass.
My retirement date will be July 8, 2079. I am 46 now. By the time I frantically wheel my wheelchair forward far enough to catch up to the age of priest retirement, it will be 120.
And they will say, “Tell us, Father Wilson. What was it like to live in the Age of Renewal?” And, after a pause while I find my teeth, I’ll start by saying, “Well, there started to be a shortage of priests. Although, thank God, there has never been a shortage of bishops…”
Father Wilson,
When you’re old and retired, you will be welcome to live with me and I will cook good food for you while you tell me stories of crackpot bishops. We’ll sit in rocking chairs and laugh our butts off … I hope.
Father Wilson,
I hope you are wrong. If retirement age becomes 120, my retirement date will be April 10, 2094. Dom’s grandson will be cooking my meals.
Also, Father Wilson, don’t forget to wear your clerics when you wheel yourself to Dom’s house.
Father Ethan, you’re in a different generation. Your retirement age will be 136.
As for the clerics, I’m the last priest in North America who lives in a cassock. My memoirs will be titled “THE SOUTANIC VERSES: Father Wilson of the Church of Rome.”
And there will only be one index:
INDEX OF BISHOPS
Adamec, pp….
Bernardin, pp…
Dearden, pp…
As a Liability Insurance U/W, one thing that gets us very, very angry is when the insured fails to cooperate in the handling and settlement of the claim. The policy says you must do so. If you don’t you get to talk to even more lawyers that work for insurance companies. If we have found out you have lied to us, or hid stuff from us, well – (you know, the kinds of sins one says in CONFESSION), you are in deep. Most of the policies now at issue were written years and years ago. In ACE’s case, it from the old CIGNA days. The opportunity to get out for nothing because of the dioceses actions, worth some more legal bills!
Father Wilson, are you sure you are the last priest in North America who lives in a cassock? What have I been wearing?