WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)- The judge presiding over a Delaware Catholic diocese's bankruptcy has approved the diocese's settlement with an alleged victim of priest sex abuse and agreed to keep the settlement amount secret.

The orders were signed Thursday in advance of a hearing that was subsequently canceled.

Attorneys for the Diocese of Wilmington and James Sheehan had asked that the settlement be approved and that the amount paid to Sheehan be kept confidential.

Such secrecy is routine in civil lawsuits, but a debtor in bankruptcy is expected to open its finances to scrutiny by creditors and the court.

A Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled against secrecy two years ago in a company's settlement, but diocese officials noted that Sheehan was the one requesting secrecy in this case.