The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is offering $95 million to settle more than 140 claims of sexual abuse by priests.According to documents filed Wednesday in the church's bankruptcy proceedings, the diocese would offer 83 victims who say they were forced to have sex as much as $800,000.
Forty-four others who were touched or forced to masturbate would receive $176,000 to $575,000.
An additional 16 victims who say they were exposed to lesser types of abuse -- being asked to pose for photographs or look at sexual material, for example -- would receive $10,000 to $175,000.
Under the proposed bankruptcy reorganization plan, a $3 million fund would also be created to settle any additional abuse claims that have not been formally made.
Final payouts would be based on the age of the victim when the abuse took place, as well as the frequency and duration of the abuse.
The diocese said in its filing that it may consider the criminal history of the claimants and any history that the abused children themselves became abusers in setting compensation.
The proposed $95 million settlement is a significant chunk of the $156 million in assets disclosed by the diocese in its initial filings.
The diocese said in its latest filing that it expects half the total payout amount will be covered by insurance, though it reserved the right to reduce its settlement offer if its insurers balk at the proposed sum.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs said they thought the offer was too low.
They have estimated a fair settlement to be in the range of $200 million -- a record amount for such a case -- based on payouts made in other dioceses, including the $100 million paid out by the Diocese of Orange County to 87 claimants in 2005.
"This is outrageous -- it's five steps backward," said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiffs' attorney, who participated in closed settlement negotiations with the diocese. "It's clear with this plan that they're throwing down the gauntlet. This will be a long and expensive battle."
Diocese officials defended the plan.
"We recognize that we have to do something for the victims, but we have to balance that against our responsibilities to our parishioners," said diocese counsel Micheal Webb.
The diocese abruptly filed for bankruptcy protection Feb. 27, just hours before the first civil trial was scheduled to begin in San Diego Superior Court and after a last-ditch round of settlement negotiations with plaintiffs' attorneys.
With nearly 1 million Catholics and holdings across San Diego County, the diocese here is by far the largest and, by all accounts, the wealthiest of the five U.S. dioceses to have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy under the shadow of civil claims over sexual abuse.
The other dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection are Davenport, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; and Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson has emerged from bankruptcy protection, and proposed settlements are awaiting final approval in Portland and Spokane.
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