October 03, 2005

Arizona priest abuse settlement may influence Oregon

TUCSON (AZ)
KATU

By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
TUCSON, Ariz. - The successful completion this week of the Tucson Roman Catholic diocese's bankruptcy case was a triumph of negotiation and compromise over contention.

It could serve as a potential model, but it's unlikely to have much impact on two more acrimonious diocesan bankruptcies playing out in the West, according to bankruptcy experts and other specialists who have followed the sex abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic church nationwide.

The effect of the Tucson case, which gives some abuse victims at least $600,000, on ongoing bankruptcy cases involving the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., and the Diocese of Spokane, Wash., is not obvious, said Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va.

Posted by kshaw at October 3, 2005 02:36 PM