Milwaukee Archdiocese Files Show Pressure on Dolan As the national clergy sex abuse scandal mounted following revelations in Boston in 2002, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan faced increasing pressure as the archbishop in Milwaukee to cut costs by defrocking problem priests and pushback from his staff when he hesitated, according to newly released records. Clergy sex abuse victims have harshly criticized Dolan for payments made to at least seven abusive priests who were forced out of the church; they view the money as bonuses given to criminals. The archdiocese has said it long provided money to priests leaving the priesthood as a means of helping them transition into new lives; most were not accused of wrongdoing. While victims have faulted Dolan for the payments, documents released July 1 show that others in the archdiocese also were pushing to get rid of the priests as a way to ensure that money was focused on caring for victims and church operations. Dolan and others likely saw the payments as a cost-effective way to speed up the priests' departure. The documents were made public as part of a deal reached in federal bankruptcy court between the archdiocese and victims suing it for fraud. Archdiocese leaders long struggled with how to deal with abusive priests. Under Dolan's predecessors, Archbishops William Cousins and Rembert Weakland, a number were reassigned to parishes after receiving counseling and treatment for alcoholism and other issues. Weakland, who was archbishop from 1977 to 2002, said in a 2008 deposition that removing the priests wasn't an option back then and restricting their duties didn't turn out well. "You have somebody sitting there with nothing to do and it gets worse, not better," he said. After more victims began coming forward in 2002, however, the archdiocese pulled all the priests with verified allegations of sexual abuse of a minor from active ministry. The church, however, was still financially responsible for the men as long as they were priests. A letter to one priest in 2005 puts the cost at $1,250 per month plus insurance and pension premiums. Under Dolan, who took over in mid-2002, the archdiocese offered deals in 2003 to a half-dozen priests accused of sexual abuse to get them to voluntarily leave the priesthood. The priests received $10,000 when they applied to leave, and $10,000 when the pope officially dismissed them. A letter to another priest shows Dolan also sweetened the deal by agreeing to continue paying a monthly stipend while the priests' applications to leave were pending. A key factor was that the departure process, called laicization, involves a lengthy legal process within the church that moves much faster if a priest goes voluntarily. A priest who volunteered to leave might be gone in two years; one who resisted could drag the process out for years. The files include multiple instances of Vatican officials urging church leaders in Milwaukee to get priests to go voluntarily. Jerry Topczewski, chief of staff for current Archbishop Jerome Listecki, said victims also were demanding the priests' swift removal and the payments sped that along. The archdiocese didn't push out all the abusive priests, however. Dolan recommended in a 2004 letter to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, that some men who were very old or extremely ill be spared expulsion, which he said "could be tantamount to a death sentence." Ratzinger led the office handling clergy sex abuse cases at the time.