In an interview Monday on the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese's bankruptcy reorganization plan, Archbishop Jerome Listecki said he wanted sexual abuse victims to know that "we are doing our best" even though it might not seem that way to some victims and that the archdiocese is "not going to walk away from the victim survivors."

He also said that he wants parishioners to know that "we basically have confronted evil, and we haven't walked away from it" in dealing with the sexual abuse scandal.

There are those who would take issue with those statements. Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests and the Survivors and Clergy Leadership Alliance blasted the plan, announced last week, as an "obscene gesture" by the archdiocese, insulting to those who were victimized by both clergy and a church hierarchy that sometimes turned a blind eye to such abuse.

He was not alone, though we think that criticism is overly harsh. That said, we wish the church could do more, both in terms of the monetary settlements, including a lifetime fund for therapy for victims (about $500,000), and in the number of claimants allowed. If approved by the bankruptcy court, the plan would provide the smallest settlement of any of the Catholic Church bankruptcies filed since 2004. The plan limits the number of claimants to about 125 abuse victims out of the 575 who have made claims against the archdiocese.

In our view, it's questionable that such a limited plan provides the measure of justice needed for the abuse of children. The court needs to take a close look at the plan and make sure there is nothing else the diocese can do to provide more help and more justice for victims. Perhaps there should be a campaign for victims as there have been for other church causes, or perhaps there are other sources of money for the settlement.

The proceeding is far from over. Listecki said the archdiocese put together the plan to move the case forward and to provide a settlement that can be discussed as opposed to what he called a continuous spinning of wheels that only benefits attorneys. We certainly understand that motivation. This has dragged on for far too long.

The archbishop acknowledged that he is getting that discussion, and he said he understands the angry reaction. No amount of money would be enough compensation, he said, but because of the nature of this bankruptcy, he is limited in what he can offer, and he emphasized the importance of the therapy fund. Victims should ask, he said, "where is the source of my healing?"

We said last July that victims were entitled to compensation and substantial help to heal but not to a blank check. Ideally, the diocese would emerge from this bankruptcy having provided that help and still able to carry out its mission, which provide needed help in some of the poorest parts of the community.

Where would additional money come from? Listecki told us Monday that the archdiocese has no additional money to offer, although it will go after the archdiocese's insurance companies, which might be one source. Other than that, it has no more assets, no more property to sell; it can't tap certain funds designated for other purposes. He said this bankruptcy is different from the dozen or so Catholic diocese bankruptcies because the claimants in this case are alleging fraud, which is not covered by insurance. Of course, the reason that victims filed fraud cases is because of a state Supreme Court ruling that limited the legal avenues that victims could take.

The archdiocese already has provided $33 million to survivors and has substantially shrunk its budget and staff in recent years. Listecki also said that the church has maintained from the beginning of the bankruptcy proceedings three years ago that — because of the governance structures within the church — it was not responsible for claims involving religious order clergy who worked in the archdiocese but not for the archdiocese.

Much of this will feel like artful dodging to many, although Listecki strikes us as sincere in his attempt to provide help to victims while still maintaining the diocese's mission and the life of the church. Our hope, however, is that as the case moves forward, the court can find additional sources of revenue for victim compensation while still leaving an archdiocese that can perform its mission.