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More than 500 people have filed sex abuse claims in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy in advance of today’s 4 p.m. deadline. It is the largest number of claims among the eight Catholic dioceses to seek bankruptcy protection since 2004 in response to sex abuse allegations, and on par with a Jesuit bankruptcy that covered five states.

Victims and their attorneys called the numbers staggering and just the tip of the iceberg, noting that statistically only a small percentage of sex abuse victims come forward.

Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said the church had cast a wide net for victims in compliance with the court's instructions, and had no expectations regarding the numbers that would come in. He reiterated Archbishop Jerome Listecki’s assertion that it would seek to bar all claims it is not obligated to cover under bankruptcy law, regardless of whether the abuse occurred.

Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley will consider the first of the archdiocese's motions for summary judgment objecting to three claims from the 1970s and ‘80s involving two priests and a choir director at a hearing Feb. 9. The archdiocese argues they should be thrown out because they were filed beyond the statute of limitations, involve a victim who received a prior settlement and a perpetrator it says was not a direct employee of the archdiocese.

Victim attorneys have characterized the trio of motions as a test case that, if successful, the archdiocese will use to bar the vast majority of claims in the bankruptcy.

The archdiocese has asked the court for permission to establish a $300,000 therapy fund to assist those who were abused but whose claims are dismissed. Topczewski said the fund could be replenished as needs arise.