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The archdiocese, its parishes and several insurers will pay
$179.2 million into a trust to benefit survivors, according to a
statement by the committee that negotiated the agreement. The
money will be distributed after the church emerges from
bankruptcy, it said.
But many of the survivors were not on board, their lawyers said.
“This proposed settlement was made in a secret backroom deal
that the Archdiocese, the creditors committees and the mediators
knew the overwhelming majority of victim-survivors would never
agree to and will undoubtedly vote down,” attorneys Soren
Gisleson, Johnny Denenea and Richard Trahant said in a statement
to The Associated Press. “It makes no sense and is a
continuation of the lifetime of abuse the Archdiocese has
inflicted on these folks.”
The agreement, which would settle a lawsuit filed in 2020,
requires approval from the survivors as well as the bankruptcy
court and other Archdiocese creditors.
Aaron Hebert, who says he was abused by a priest in the 1960s as
an eighth grader, called the deal “an insult and a slap to the
face.”
“The Archdiocese of New Orleans and Archbishop (Gregory) Aymond
are throwing this offer out to prevent victims and survivors
from taking their claims to state court,” Hebert said.
The committee's statement said the deal also includes what it
called “unprecedented” provisions and procedures to safeguard
against future abuse and provide services to survivors,
including a survivors’ bill of rights and changes to the
Archdiocese’s process for handling abuse claims.
“I am grateful to God for all who have worked to reach this
agreement and that we may look to the future towards a path to
healing for survivors and for our local church,” Aymond said in
a statement.
The suit involves more than 500 people who say they were abused
by clergy. The case produced a trove of church records said to
document years of abuse claims and a pattern of leaders
transferring clergy without reporting their alleged crimes to
law enforcement.
In 2018 the archdiocese released a list identifying more than 50
clergy members who were removed from the ministry over the years
due to “credible accusations” of sexual abuse.
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Mustian reported from New York, and Baumann from Bellingham,
Washington.
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