NEW
ORLEANS, La., Nov. 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- In a notable milestone in the chapter 11 bankruptcy
proceedings of the Roman Catholic Church Archdiocese of
New Orleans (the "Archdiocese"),
the Archdiocese and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors
(the "Committee"), which represents sexual abuse survivors, have
reached an agreement regarding the non-monetary child protection
provisions to be included in each of their proposed bankruptcy
plans. The Committee is represented by James Stang, Andrew
Caine and Iain Nasatir of
Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones ("PSZJ") and Omer Kuebel, Brad
Knapp, and Steven Bryant of
Locke Lord.
The Committee has repeatedly demanded that the Archdiocese
commit to enhanced child protection policies and procedures toward
the critical goal of preventing future child sexual abuse in church
ministry, including improved public accountability and
transparency, internal and external oversight, treatment for
survivors, and public apologies and recognition. The agreed upon
provisions, which were heavily negotiated for over two years, begin
with the Archdiocese's pledge to continue to clearly state that
child protection and the prevention of sexual abuse is of paramount
importance, that "[the Archdiocese] will not compromise the
protection of Children from Child Sexual Abuse and is committed to
the care and well-being of survivors of abuse."
The complete agreed upon nonmonetary provisions have been filed
with the court by both parties as part of their respective
Restructuring Plans. In sum, the provisions include:
(a) the retention of a third-party Child
Protection consultant to continue to recommend further protection
policies and procedures;
(b) the creation of new Youth Protection Advisor and Youth
Protection Executive roles, tasked with coordination and monitoring
of child protection procedures and compliance;
(c) Enhanced procedures and regular meetings of the Archdiocese
Independent Review Board to review allegations of credible abuse,
appointment of a survivor member to the Board, and creation of
opportunities for survivors to seek review of claims
and alleged perpetrators;
(d) Improved intake and handling of claims;
(e) Stringent requirements for mandatory reporting of claims to law
enforcement;
(f) Treatment and other services for survivors;
(g) A publicly available university archive of accused priest files
and related abuse documents;
(h) Public apologies by the Archbishop and anti-abuse and
remembrance plaques;
(i) A forum for survivors to tell their stories;
(j) Enhanced monitoring and public reporting of compliance
with the provisions;
(k) Enforcement of compliance by survivor representatives;
"The strongest possible protections for children and other
sexual abuse survivors are of critical importance to the Committee
as the representative of the hundreds of survivors of abuse in this
Archdiocese. The Committee has tirelessly advocated for these
enhanced provisions as essential to any path forward for the
Archdiocese to exit bankruptcy," said Andy
Caine of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones.
"My highest priority as a representative of the survivor
community is to work to ensure that no child is ever harmed again.
We all have family and friends who need protection, and I will not
be deterred from that goal," said Patricia
Moody, Committee Chair.
The parties continue negotiations on a monetary settlement in
the hopes of reaching a consensual plan to finalize the bankruptcy
proceedings with fair and just compensation for and treatment of
survivors.
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SOURCE Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones
