MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
The clergy sex abuse victim who chairs the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s creditors committee called the $21 million settlement announced this week “the lesser of two evils,” saying the alternative would have been far worse for far more survivors.
“I can’t say they were happy,” Charles Linneman of Sugar Grove, Ill., said of the five-member creditors committee that signed off on the agreement with the archdiocese.
“I think we were forced into a corner,” he said. “They (the archdiocese) had every intention of throwing out as many cases as possible and offering a lot less than was finally agreed to in the settlement.”
The archdiocese announced on Tuesday that it would pay $21 million to compensate 330 of the estimated 570 victims who filed claims in the bankruptcy. Of the 570, 157 would receive no payment, and 92 would get $2,000 each.
“We had to fight to get that number to 330,” said Linneman. “We didn’t want anyone thrown out.”
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