Posted on 07/23/2020 7:06:48 PM PDT by marshmallow
Another legal challenge for the archbishop
INDIANAPOLIS (ChurchMilitant.com) - An insurance firm is suing the archdiocese of Indianapolis, claiming the archdiocese applied for liability insurance without disclosing known allegations of clerical sex abuse.
Lloyd's of London, the insurance company for the Indianapolis archdiocese, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
Underwriters for the company are asking the judge to void the policy, arguing the archdiocese applied for the excess sexual misconduct liability insurance at the end of June 2019, roughly four months after abuse allegations surfaced against archdiocesan priest Fr. David J. Marcotte.
Father Marcotte was accused in February 2019 of sexually abusing a 15-year-old in 2017 and 2018. Marcotte was suspended shortly after the archdiocese learned of the accusations against him. He was arrested in October 2019.
On the application for the insurance policy (which was filled out in June), the archdiocese answered "no" to the question of whether they were aware of any "facts, circumstances or allegations that may result in claims being made against you."
Ordained in 2014, Marcotte was working at St. Malachy Catholic Church in Brownsburg; he was also assigned to St. Martin of Tours in Martinsville at the time of child sexual abuse.
When suspended in February 2019, Marcotte was a chaplain for both Roncalli High School in Indianapolis and the University of Indianapolis, as well as an assistant at Ss. Francis and Clare of Assisi Catholic Church and School in Greenwood.
(Excerpt) Read more at churchmilitant.com ...
Busted!
Damn, so many sexual abuses, so little time.
Disgusting.
Insurance fraud.
Fault Lloyd’s for not investigating or reading a news paper prior to issuing such a policy.
Agreed. This isn’t 1980. The internet is open and searchable to all. A little due diligence would have disclosed that with the June application for excess coverage, a short search would have turned up the February allegations. LoL could have excluded coverage for acts of any clergy prior to June.
No. Fault Loyds of London for actually providing insurance to cover damages for this type of behaviour. Yes I used the British u.
I think the Catholic Church needs to rethink their corporate structure. Churches should be owned by the local congregations. Local congregations should be able to interview and select their priests. Priests and other clergy must be responsible for their own actions without endangering the local congregation’s property.
Second one isn't going to happen. Of course Catholics are free to go to the bishop and make him aware that a priest he's assigned is bad news, if their objection is substantive and appropriate. (Inappropriate: "He preaches about sin too much! He expects us to obey the moral law! He won't give us communion in a baggie!")
Third one has to do with how the civil law works (see "respondeat superior"); the church has no input or influence over it.
This is similar to a lawsuit in the Diocese of Phoenix several years ago. The first decision in Phoenix ruled for the diocese but was overturned in the Ninth Circuit and the insurance companies did not have to cover the abuse payments.
https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/00010101/NEWS06/140739943/Insurer-not-required-to-pay-for-Phoenix-dioceses-abuse-settlements-Court#
I hate the way this is written. It wasn’t just a minor, it was a boy. Fr. David J. Marcotte is a homosexual. A normal one.
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