A bankruptcy court in New Mexico has approved a $121 million reorganisation plan put forward by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which included a large settlement with the victims of clergy sex abuse.
The archdiocese sought bankruptcy protection in 2018 and the final settlement had to be approved by two-thirds of those with sex abuse claims against the archdiocese. In the end, just four out of 376 victims voted against the settlement.
“I wish to express my profound appreciation to the survivors who served on the unsecured creditors’ committee. They represented all survivors of clergy sexual abuse who presented a claim in the bankruptcy,” said the Archbishop of Santa Fe, John Wester, in a written statement.
“Their challenging work was vital to the success of the settlement and certainly was not easy as they continued to deal with the aftermath of their own abuse.”
“While I hope and pray that the bankruptcy outcome will bring a measure of justice and relief to the survivors of clergy sexual abuse, I realise that nothing can ever compensate them for the criminal and horrendous abuse they endured,” Wester added.
“I pledge that the Archdiocese of Santa Fe will remain vigilant in protecting children and young people from clergy sexual abuse, doing all we can to assure them of a safe and protective environment in the Catholic Church.”
Insurance companies will pay $46.5 million of the settlement amount, and the archdiocese is raising the rest. Already, Wester has sold the archbishop’s residence in Albuquerque and other properties.
In a novel aspect of the settlement, the archdiocese agreed to turn over documents to a public archive at the state-run University of New Mexico so scholars can study how the sex abuse cover-up unfolded.
Records indicated that sex abuse claims go back as far as the 1940s.
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