With Coverups Continuing, Creative Lawyers Must Bring the Catholic Church to Account
In 2019, Paul Linnenburger was the driving force behind a new tact designed to hold the Catholic Church accountable for hiding pedophiles in New Mexico. He developed, drafted and brought civil racketeering claims against Church entities when they defrauded parents over years, convincing them that Santo Nino Regional School was dedicated to the safety of its students, all the while knowing that a predator was teaching there. In 2020, he followed this up with a groundbreaking lawsuit brought on behalf of a survivor of David Holley, which extended the civil racketeering claims to other Church settings through a theory of defrauding parishioners into donating funds to maintain houses of sin for monster priests.
Paul's creative efforts and work in bringing those that coddle child predators to account is vital to ending child sexual abuse in our religious and educational institutions. Unfortunately, as recent events at that same Santo Nino Regional School show, it continues to be important and necessary work.
The culture of institutions much change. And to drive that change, Paul will continue to push the envelope on behalf of survivors.