BishopAccountability.org
	Creditors OK Tucson Diocese Bankruptcy Arizona Daily Sun [Tucson AZ] July 10, 2005 TUCSON (AP) -- Creditors voted to approve the bankruptcy reorganization plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, meaning the diocese could soon emerge from bankruptcy. An overwhelming majority of the creditors eligible to vote on the Chapter 11 plan approved it, according to a ballot report filed Friday by diocesan attorney Susan Boswell. The majority of creditors in a credit class or creditors representing two-thirds of the money owed must vote yes for the plan to move forward. But the diocese had indicated it would not move forward with the plan regardless unless the most critical class of creditors -- people who were allegedly sexually abused by local clergy -- cast a majority of votes in favor of the plan. Boswell's report said 84 percent of the 76 alleged abuse victim creditors who cast valid ballots voted to accept it. The plan must still receive approval from federal bankruptcy Judge James M. Marlar, who has a hearing scheduled Monday in the case. The plan calls for a settlement pool totaling $15.7 million, with future payments possible depending on revenue from real estate sales, parish contributions, insurance settlements and whether a $5 million allotment for future claims is used. The diocese filed for bankruptcy last year as it faced 22 legal actions alleging abuse by priests. The growing number of lawsuits came after the diocese had already settled cases in 2002 with 10 men abused as children for $14 million.