"The move drew immediate and vehement pushback from the attorneys of those abuse victims, claiming that the diocese cut them out of negotiations with insurers and afforded them no say in the latest proposal. They also said it failed to adequately compensate abuse victims by stretching out the payments over five years, allowing inflation to chip away at the ultimate total."
"The plan called for about $200 million of that total to come from the diocese itself and a corporation running its schools, and another $42 million to come from its insurers. In its filing, the diocese's attorneys said the offer is fair and equitable because it would compensate survivors of sexual abuse who are creditors and would permit the diocese to continue its ministry to the more than 500,000 faithful within and around the diocese."
"This is yet another attempt to sideline survivors' voices and shield the Diocese of Oakland and its insurance carriers from true accountability, attorney Jeff Anderson said in a statement. The Bishop is once again relying on a predictable strategy: suppress survivors in an attempt to escape the scrutiny and accountability they deserve."
Oakland's Roman Catholic Diocese proposed a $242 million settlement to resolve lawsuits from nearly 350 parishioners who allege years of sexual abuse by local clergy. The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court outlined more than $700,000 in payouts to those claimants. About $200 million would come from the diocese and a corporation operating its schools, while insurers would contribute roughly $42 million. The diocese's attorneys described the proposal as fair and equitable and said it would compensate survivors while allowing continued ministry to over 500,000 faithful. Victims' attorneys immediately criticized the plan as exclusionary, inadequately compensatory, and structured to dilute payments over five years.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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