MILWAUKEE (WI)
SF Gate
By M.L. JOHNSON, Associated Press
Updated 7:40 am, Saturday, September 6, 2014
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is returning to mediation with hundreds of sexual abuse victims Monday in an effort to bring its long and costly bankruptcy case to a close. Here are a few things to know while talks are going on:
___
THIS IS ROUND TWO
A 2012 attempt at mediation failed because too many issues divided the archdiocese and its creditors, most of whom are sexual abuse victims. The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying it wouldn’t have the money to pay if it lost lawsuits filed by victims of clergy sexual abuse. Now, the matter largely comes down to two key issues: how much money the archdiocese will borrow from a $55 million cemetery trust fund to pay victims and settle its debts and how the money will be divided among victims. The archdiocese has proposed setting aside $4 million to pay about 130 people abused by its priests. Victims say that’s too little and the offer leaves those abused by laypeople and religious order priests who worked in the diocese out in the cold.
___
TRUST FUND IS KEY
The key to a deal likely lies with the archdiocese’s willingness to use money from the cemetery trust fund set up by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan when he was Milwaukee archbishop. The archdiocese says the money in the fund was given and must be used to maintain Catholic cemeteries, but its bankruptcy reorganization plan proposes borrowing $2 million from the trust fund to help cover its legal bills. Victims don’t see why the archdiocese can’t borrow more to better compensate them. That means resolution may lie in the hands of Archbishop Jerome Listecki, who leads the archdiocese and serves as the trust fund’s sole trustee. Listecki told reporters Wednesday that he is balance what’s best for the archdiocese with his responsibilities to the trust, but didn’t elaborate on what that means in terms of additional borrowing.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.