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	San Diego Bishop Slated for Questioning in Bankruptcy Associated Press, carried in The Press-Enterprise April 20, 2007 http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_Church_Abuse_Bankruptcy_284158C.shtml San Diego More than 140 people who claim they were sexually abused by priests of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego have waited years for answers from church leaders. Some will finally have their chance to ask questions on Friday, when Bishop Robert H. Brom testifies before a meeting of the creditors' committee in the diocese's bankruptcy proceedings. The committee, which represents parties with financial claims against the diocese, includes a handful of the more than 140 plaintiffs who have filed civil suits against the church alleging abuse. Questions will be limited to matters directly relating to diocesan financial records and its proposed reorganization plan, and the bishop will not answer to the abuse allegations, said James Stang, a bankruptcy attorney representing the plaintiffs. Brom has not appeared in court since the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, just hours before the first civil trial was slated to begin in San Diego Superior Court. In a letter posted to the diocese Web site for distribution to parishioners this weekend, Brom called for remaining abuse victims to step forward and file claims. On Thursday, diocese attorneys asked the judge overseeing the bankruptcy to set a 150-day window for new claims. Last month, the diocese proposed a $95 million settlement for sex-abuse victims that would pay plaintiffs between $10,000 and $800,000 each. An additional $3 million fund would be established to resolve claims that have not yet been filed. Plaintiff attorneys are seeking a settlement of about $200 million. With nearly 1 million Catholics and holdings throughout San Diego County, the diocese here is by far the largest and, by all accounts, the wealthiest of the five U.S. dioceses to have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the shadow of civil claims over sexual abuse. San Diego was the fifth U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy. The other dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection are Davenport, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; and Tucson, Ariz. Tucson and Spokane have emerged from bankruptcy protection, while a judge overseeing Portland's bankruptcy plan said last week she intends to approve it.
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