SPOKANE (WA)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane has proposed a new plan that would increase payouts to alleged victims of priest sex abuse and resolve its thorny bankruptcy case.
The plan reveals that the diocese may have $57.5 million available without selling any church property. That's double its initial estimate, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review reported for a story in Saturday editions.
Diocese attorney Greg Arpin called the new estimate a "best case scenario" that anticipates successful litigation against insurers. He said that would boost the payout to victims from about $15 million to $45 million.
The plan, proposed on Friday, also includes what the diocese hopes will be a simple and successful claim against a Catholic society called the Sulpicians, which trains clergy.