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	Archdiocese Seeks OK to Pay Settlements to Abuse Victims By Annysa Johnson Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 14, 2011 http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/117971039.html The Archdiocese of Milwaukee on Monday asked the bankruptcy court for permission to pay $702,000 in settlements to 22 sex abuse victims who've gone through its private mediation process, and to continue in mediation with two others who signed up shortly before the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection in January. Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said the requests, if granted, will allow the church to maintain its commitments to victims. But attorneys for the creditors' committee said they may object on the grounds that it treats one class of victims differently than others. "Why should they prefer someone who works quietly with them and keeps their secrets over someone who was harmed but won't keep their secrets?" said Jeffrey Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn., lawyer who is heading the creditor committee's legal team. The request is among a number of motions submitted by archdiocese attorneys on Monday that Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley will take up at a hearing April 5. In addition to the mediation requests, the church has asked to continue paying therapy costs for victims who've undergone mediation - about $72,000 annually - and to create an alternative process for sending bankruptcy notices to victims who want anonymity. "The vast majority of these people wish to remain anonymous," said Topczewski, who said merely sealing the court record doesn't provide enough protection. Victims' attorneys said they support the continued therapy payments and protecting the identity of victims who want that, but would have to scrutinize any proposal that would keep names out of the record entirely. "In the past, the archdiocese has taken steps to out survivors who filed as John Does. So it makes me a little suspicious about the true motive here," said Mike Finnegan, an associate of Anderson.
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