MILWAUKEE (WI)
Wall Street Journal
By TOM CORRIGAN
Clergy sexual abuse victims will soon begin voting on a $21 million settlement, which the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee hopes will put its nearly five-year-old chapter 11 case to rest.
Judge Susan Kelley of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Milwaukee on Wednesday approved a plain-language version of the archdiocese’s chapter 11 reorganization plan, at the heart of which is the settlement. Now, the plan will be sent out for a vote by victims and other creditors. Judge Kelley will consider the plan itself at a Nov. 9 hearing.
The terms of the settlement, announced in August, divide about 580 abuse victims into several groups. About 350 victims will share the bulk of the $21 million settlement, and another 105 victims will each receive $2,000, court papers show. The remaining 123 victims, who had previously settled with the archdiocese or otherwise did not qualify for the settlement, won’t receive any monetary compensation.
The settlement also provides a total of $250,000 for victims who come forward in the future, plus $500,000 to provide therapy for victims in any of the three groups.
Non-monetary terms built into the settlement include requirements that the archdiocese publish the names of allegedly abusive priests on its website and that the archbishop send a personal letter of apology to any victim who requests it.
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