Archdiocese and abuse survivors agree to nonmonetary plan provisions

In a major milestone in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the archdiocese and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents abuse survivors, have reached agreement in the non-monetary plan provisions to be included in the Bankruptcy Plan.

Non-monetary plan provisions are meant to enhance the existing child protection programs of the archdiocese by improving public accountability and transparency. They also outline ways that the Archdiocese of New Orleans will once again publicly apologize for the sexual abuse crisis and continue to honor the strength of survivors.

The archdiocese and committee together designed the plan provisions using best practices to prevent child sexual abuse from happening in church ministry in the future. Coming to agreement on these plan provisions has been considered critical to both sides in terms of creating a gold standard in child protection programs and moving the bankruptcy forward.

“The church is committed to protecting children and preventing the evil of child sexual abuse from occurring in our Catholic parishes, schools, and ministries,” said Archbishop Aymond. “I welcome this progress in our reorganization, but more importantly, I welcome the new means to strengthen our existing, effective programs for the safety and security of our children in all of our ministries. It is my prayer that our work with the committee will continue to be collaborative keeping the survivors at the forefront of decisions.”

The complete list of nonmonetary plan provisions will be filed with the court by both the archdiocese and the committee as part of their Restructuring Plans while they continue negotiations on a monetary settlement in the hopes of reaching a consensual plan. Mediation sessions resume this month, and it is the hope of the archdiocese that these negotiations will be fruitful and bring the two sides closer to finalizing these proceedings fairly and equitably.