MILWAUKEE (WI)
National Catholic Reporter
Marie Rohde | Feb. 18, 2014
MILWAUKEE The Milwaukee archdiocese will walk away from bankruptcy relatively unscathed if its proposed reorganization plan is accepted by Judge Susan V. Kelley.
Although it was lawsuits brought by 570 alleged childhood victims of clergy sex abuse that forced the archdiocese into bankruptcy court, a close reading of the 337-page document shows that the vast majority of those claims will get no financial compensation from a $4 million fund for survivors.
Most other creditors in the case will be paid, although some will get less than they say they are due.
The archdiocese has no plans to reduce its annual $24 million operating budget or sell any property. It will have to put some property up as collateral to “borrow” $2 million from the controversial cemetery perpetual care trust fund — the same $57 million fund church officials fought to keep out of the bankruptcy case that is now being appealed.
Meanwhile, the price tag for bankruptcy legal fees that the archdiocese must pay will be at least $18 million. Already, $12.5 million has been paid and another $4.5 million in bills has accrued. The archdiocese estimates it will cost another $1 million to complete the bankruptcy under the plan.
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