As New Orleans’s bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese finalizes a plan to settle 633 clergy abuse claims filed against it, the church’s investors are arguing in US bankruptcy court that about half of those survivors could have their claims thrown out.
Church officials said on Wednesday they would not necessarily seek that, though the eligibility of claims will be determined by a court-appointed examiner. If the investors’ arguments prevail, it could have major effects on whether the US’s second-oldest Catholic archdiocese settles its expensive, five-year-old bankruptcy case – or if victims of abuse by its clergy will pursue their claims individually in civil court.
Meanwhile, documents filed in court on Tuesday outlined how the church has agreed to pay at least $180m into a settlement trust, with the total growing to between $210m and $235m if a number of affordable apartment complexes owned by a church affiliate can be sold.
After the eligible claimants are determined, they will get to vote to approve or reject the settlement by 29 October.
If two-thirds of the voting claimants do not approve the settlement, Judge Meredith Grabill has said she will have no choice but to throw the church out of bankruptcy.
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