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	Claimants Support Diocese Plan By Ann McGlynn Quad-City Times April 25, 2008 http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/04/25/news/local/doc48129b51708c4961698585.txt The 142 sex abuse claimants in the Diocese of Davenport who cast their ballots on the diocese's bankruptcy reorganization plan overwhelmingly supported the roadmap for how the $37 million settlement will be dispersed. Just one claimant voted no, according to records filed in the case. Several claimants participated in meetings and conference calls over the past few weeks to discuss the plan, said Mike Uhde, chairman of the creditors committee. A common sentiment, Uhde said, was to get the bankruptcy and the determination of payment of claims "done and over with as soon as possible." Uhde is one of the people on the list to testify Wednesday at the confirmation hearing for the reorganization plan. Also on the witness list is Char Maaske, diocesan chief financial officer; Leo Bressanelli, trustee of St. Anthony's Catholic Church; and Michael Murphy, who will represent people who file claims at a later time. Hamid Rafatjoo, attorney for the creditor's committee also was one of a handful of people who filed affidavits in support of the plan. "Traumatized and haunted by the sexual abuse they suffered as children, many of the survivors have been saddled with depression, drug abuse, and other medical conditions. Some have gone to prison and others have committed suicide, unable to continue bearing the pain of the abuse they suffered. Now as a result of the efforts of those who have come forward and the efforts of all the parties involved, the survivors have the opportunity to seek peace and justice through the plan," he wrote. Judge Lee Jackwig has questioned whether the diocese's churches, schools and other entities can be released from liability by the plan. She also questioned why just four churches were asked to contribute to the settlement. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in October 2006 after it lost its first civil sex abuse trial. The lawsuit was brought by Uhde, who was awarded $1.5 million by a Scott County jury, double what he requested, for abuse he suffered as a child by the late Monsignor Thomas Feeney. The plan includes a detailed matrix that assigns a dollar amount to the 156 bankruptcy claimants based on the severity of abuse suffered at the hands of clergy. Claimants are allowed to take the bankruptcy settlement trustee to court if they do not wish to be paid on the basis of the matrix. The plan also lays out 18 nonmonetary agreements the diocese made with the claimants. The diocese, its insurance company and the creditors committee agreed to a $37 million settlement, with the stipulation that all Catholic entities in the diocese were to be released from liability just as the diocese will be released once the bankruptcy process is completed. Insurance company Travelers is to pay $19.5 million, the deed to the diocese-owned St. Vincent Center valued at $3.9 million is to be turned over to the bankruptcy trustee and the diocese is to pay $13.5 million. The four individual churches have been asked to contribute to that amount. The diocese also will be taking out a $2 million loan from Quad-City Bank & Trust, documents indicate. Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.
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