Today's Stories: Mexican president starts South American tour Brazilian defense minister to visit troops in Haiti Sex claims 'bankrupt US archdiocese'

Portland, Oregon, Archbishop John Vlazny said the archdiocese had little money left. The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, will be the first in the US to go into bankruptcy.

During his four-day tour of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, Fox will attend a Mercosur Summit in Puerto Iguazu, in Argentina's northern province of Misiones, at which Mercosur leaders will consider Mexico's application to join the trade bloc. Mercosur groups Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia, Chile and Peru as associate members.

In an interview with Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo published on Tuesday, the Mexican president said his country's entry into the Mercosur will give "vitality" and "new energy" to the bloc.

Mexico has signed free trade agreements with 42 countries, according to Fox.

"Nobody like Mexico could talk about the advantages of free trade," Fox was quoted as saying, adding that "it is in our interest to have an agreement with Argentina and Brazil as well."

Mexico's main trade partner is the United States, which is the destination of 90 percent of its exports.

Fox said Mexico has already had free trade agreements with Uruguay and Chile, and it is a natural step to join the Mercosur as an associate member. "Then we would consider the possibility of having a Mercosur-Mexico agreement," he added.

In Puerto Iguazu, Fox will hold separate meetings with his Chilean counterpart Ricardo Lagos, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and President of the Commission of Mercosur Representatives and former Argentine president, Eduardo Duhalde.

He will also attend the Forum of Political Consultation and Negotiation of Mercosur, which will focus on issues such as social development, justice and technology.

Fox's Argentina stop will be sandwiched between talks in Brasilia with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on bilateral ties on Wednesday morning and meetings in Paraguay with his counterpart Nicanor Duarte on Thursday, according to the Mexican Foreign Ministry.

The Mexico president was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday night in Brasilia and will be back in Mexico on Friday night.
 

Brazilian defense minister to visit troops in Haiti
Brazilian Defense Minister Jose Viegas will visit Haiti on Wednesday, where Brazilian troops are expected to take part in the United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Viegas will be accompanied by his counterparts from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, who will arrive in Brazil on Tuesday, the pressoffice of the Defense Ministry said.

His visit was aimed at showing the military personnel the government's support and solving some of the problems faced by the troops, including the precariousness of their lodgings.

During the visit, Augusto H. Ribeiro, commander of the MINUSTAH, will brief the delegation on the soldiers' performance in Haiti.

Brazil has 1,200 troops in Haiti, where they have the tasks of patrolling, safeguarding authorities and buildings, escorting convoys and providing logistic support in dismantling explosive devices.

The MINUSTHA, which is expected eventually to have 6,700 soldiers, 1,622 police officers and 900 civil servants, was sent by the UN after the turmoil resulted in the resignation of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide earlier this year.

The UN forces, composed of soldiers from several South American countries, replaced the troops from the United States, Canada and France that arrived in Haiti in February.

The goal of the mission is to help the country recover from the crisis, which became worse when rebel armed groups took to the streets after Aristide's exile.
 

Sex claims 'bankrupt US archdiocese'
A Roman Catholic archdiocese in the US is to declare bankruptcy because it cannot meet the cost of claims by people allegedly abused by its priests.
The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, will be the first in the US to do so.

The action will suspend the start of a civil trial of a priest accused of molesting more than 50 boys.

Other US Roman Catholic dioceses are also facing bankruptcy, or have had to sell property, to meet the cost of abuse claims brought against priests.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy - the legal term for the action taken by the Portland Archdiocese - gives an organisation freedom from legal action by creditors while it reorganises, but cedes some control over finances to the courts.

I think this is just another corrupt tactic of the Roman Catholic Church archdiocese of Portland

In February 2004, a report commissioned by the Church said more than 4,000 Roman Catholic priests in the US had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years.

It said more than 10,000 children - a large majority boys - were allegedly abused, but victims' representatives said this was an underestimate.

The Archdiocese of Portland has already settled claims by some 130 people who say they were abused by priests, paying out more than $53m.

The current claim, for three times that sum, concerns alleged abuse by the late Reverend Maurice Grammond, who was accused of assaulting more than 50 boys in the 1980s.

Thousands of priests across the US have been accused since the 1950s

Archbishop John Vlazny said the archdiocese tried to settle with the plaintiffs, but could not afford their offer. "The pot of gold is pretty much empty right now," he said - a claim dismissed by the plaintiffs.

Other dioceses, such as Tucson in Arizona, have said they are considering bankruptcy, and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico has had to borrow from parish savings accounts to avoid the step.

But Jim Devereaux, one of the plaintiffs who has filed a lawsuit against the Portland church, says he is suspicious of its reasons for filing for bankruptcy.

"I think they would have met us in court today, if they'd been facing up to their responsibilities. I think this is just another corrupt tactic of the Roman Catholic Church archdiocese of Portland," he told the BBC's World Today programme.

Professor Chuck Zech, an expert in Catholic church finances, told the Associated Press: "For a diocese to give up control like this, control over a lot of important decisions, a lot of spending decisions - it's totally uncharted."

There are concerns that Chapter 11 bankruptcy could also open church records to public scrutiny, and require church leaders to cede some financial control to the courts.

Boston, one of the largest archdioceses in America and the place where the sex abuse scandal began more than two years ago, opted to sell property instead.

Throughout the US, sex abuse cases have cost more than $650m but the Church is also paying a heavy price in lost prestige and damage to its moral authority.