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$21M to be paid to clergy abuse victims under Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy plan
$21M to be paid to clergy abuse victims under Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy plan
MILWAUKEE — A federal bankruptcy judge in Milwaukee approved on Monday, November 9th a reorganization plan for the city's Roman Catholic Archdiocese that calls for $21 million to be paid to clergy abuse victims.
"I fought for you for five years the best I can. I fought for all the victims. It's been a privilege and honor to represent you," said Charles Linneman, clergy abuse victim.
Peter Isely
"There is at least some restitution, some, that is going to go to victims," said Peter Isely from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
The plan approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan Kelley on Monday splits most of that money among 355 people. Another class of 104 victims will get about $2,000 each.
"Something is terribly wrong with a process in which lawyers, especially church lawyers, they're going to end up taking twice the amount of money out of this bankruptcy than all the victims combined," said Isely .
Jerry Topczewski
"It's good, in one way, that we were able to reach an agreement with abuse survivors and that the proceeding now comes to a close," said Jerry Topczewski, spokesman for the Milwaukee Archdiocese.
But Topczewski says the church's work will not stop there.
"We are always looking at ways that the church can provide education, training, safe environment programs, all those types of things," said Topczewski. "One of the ways we do that too is by making sure people are aware of what happened in the past."
Several victims testified that they wished the settlement amounts had been larger, and some said they wanted to see deeper investigation of abuse claims. Victim advocates had sharply criticized the proposed settlement for its size.
The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011 to address its sex abuse lawsuit liabilities, and is among a dozen nationally to do so in the past decade.
Below is a statement from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee:
Below, you'll see a letter issued by SNAP (Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests) to Pope Francis, on behalf of deaf survivors of St. John's School for the Deaf, on behalf of the 575 survivors in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee: