SPOKANE – An attorney representing people who allege they were sexually abused by priests says Catholics in Eastern Washington can settle their church’s sex-abuse crisis and bankruptcy for $60 million – half of which he suggests could come from parishioners.
Bishop William Skylstad already has $30 million at his disposal from asset sales, insurance settlements and pledges from Catholic Charities and related organizations.
The remaining $30 million could be raised through what those involved in negotiations are calling the “latte-a-day” plan.
“We’re not asking for anything that can’t be done,” said attorney Tim Kosnoff, who represents multiple sex-abuse victims.
Attorneys representing various parties in the bankruptcy are known to be considering the plan following the Bankruptcy Court’s rejection of an earlier settlement agreement proposed by Skylstad, which provided for $35 million in Spokane diocese funds and indicated parishioners might have to cover the balance.
Numbers under the proposed plan might look like this: If just 20,000 of Eastern Washington’s 93,000 Catholics pitched in, the payment would be $2.05 per person per day for two years – less than the cost of a latte. If all 93,000 pay, the sum would be far less.
The calculation is intended to undercut suggestions that victims are calling for the sale of churches and schools. A small daily sacrifice by fewer than one in four Catholics could end the bankruptcy and resolve a dark chapter in the church’s history, said Michael Pfau, another attorney representing victims.
Diocese attorney Shaun Cross declined to comment on the latte-a-day plan, citing federal mediation that begins Aug. 21.
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