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By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press Writer WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington says it is obligated to keep paying retirement benefits to six priests who church officials have confirmed are pedophiles.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 protection last month.

Officials had told the judge the church would not make any payments to priests accused of sexual abuse without a court order, even if the abuse had not been substantiated.

But in a filing late Thursday, the diocese said it has an obligation to care for retired clergy, including priests dismissed from public ministry.

The motion asks for permission to continue paying benefits to six confirmed pedophiles, including 80-year-old former priest Francis DeLuca, who was defrocked after serving a jail term in New York for repeatedly abusing his grandnephew.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-20-09 1047CST | save this article / add to your favorites list