MILWAUKEE (WSAU) The Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese will ask a bankruptcy judge today to reject three compensation claims sought by victims of priest sex abuse. The Journal Sentinel says the church will claim that the victims knew enough about the way the church handled their cases to file their fraud claims up to a decade ago. And as a result, the church will argue that the statute-of-limitations had expired long before the victims came forward.

The paper said the legal strategy was outlined in newly-disclosed bankruptcy records -- and if the first three compensation claims are thrown out, the church might use the same strategy to nullify almost all of the 550 damage claims made recently by abuse victims as part of the church’s Chapter-11 financial re-organization. The archdiocese said it did everything it could to encourage victims to file those claims. But Sheboygan priest James Connell said that if the archdiocese planned all along to throw out the claims, then quote, “Shame on all involved for having raised the hopes of many people, survivors and non-survivors alike – and then shattering those hopes.”

The church said it already paid a settlement to one of the three victims involved in today’s hearing. But attorney Jeffrey Anderson says the settlement should be thrown out, claiming the archdiocese misrepresented facts to the victim when making that deal.