TUCSON (AZ)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TUCSON, Ariz. -- A year ago Tuesday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson was driven to bankruptcy by claims of clergy sex abuse, but the anniversary of the filing could also be the day the diocese emerges - a quick resolution to a difficult case, bankruptcy experts say.
United States Bankruptcy Judge James M. Marlar approved the diocese's Chapter 11 reorganization plan in July, which will make $22.2 million available to settle court-approved claims by 31 victims of sex abuse by priests. A few more victims may be added, and future claims, including on behalf of minor children, are possible but not highly likely.
Susan Boswell, the diocese's lead bankruptcy lawyer, said she hoped the settlement trust would be funded Tuesday, officially freeing the diocese from bankruptcy. The trust will provide initial payouts of up to $600,000 to the victims, who are likely to receive more money later from a fund set aside for possible future claimants.
Bankruptcy specialists consider resolving such a case so quickly extraordinary. Contentious bankruptcy reorganizations involving the Portland, Ore., and Spokane, Wash., dioceses, filed before and after Tucson's filing last year, remain far from resolution.