MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel Updated: 2:58 p.m.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced Tuesday it will pay $21 million to compensate victims of childhood sexual abuse under a settlement agreement announced Tuesday — a deal that clears the way to ending its nearly 5-year-old bankruptcy.
Of the 575 men and women who filed sex abuse claims in the bankruptcy, 330 would receive financial settlements of varying amounts, to be determined by an administrator appointed by the bankruptcy court. Federal law requires the settlement to be approved by a bankruptcy judge.
It’s also not known how many additional millions of dollars will go to pay fees of numerous attorneys and other professionals hired by the archdiocese and its creditors committee over the course of the case.
A $500,000 fund will be created to help abuse survivors obtain counseling and any other therapy they might need. Parishes will contribute to that fund.
Tuesday’s settlement paves the way to conclude what has become the longest-running and most contentious of the 14 U.S. Catholic Church bankruptcies filed since 2004 to address sexual abuse liabilities dating back decades.
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