Baltimore Archdiocese files new abuse settlement proposal. Survivors aren’t happy.

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In a new settlement proposal filed Friday, the Archdiocese of Baltimore would pay survivors of child sexual abuse just under $44 million, insurance carriers would pay at least $125 million, and individual churches and schools would pay a yet-to-be-determined amount, but the survivors’ committee said it sees the offering as a “step backwards.”

The nation’s oldest archdiocese filed a new plan of reorganization in its bankruptcy case, proposing to pay substantially more than it had offered in its first settlement plan in October. That proposal would have had the “Catholic family” — the archdiocese, its affiliated schools and parishes, and other entities — paying about $33 million altogether.

The archdiocese said in a Friday news release that it made the proposal “in recognition of child abuse survivors’ rightful desire for a resolution of their claims.”

“At its core, the proposed plan seeks to provide equitable compensation to survivors while sustaining the Church’s mission and ministries,” the archdiocese stated. “It reflects a commitment to transparency and a realistic assessment of available resources.”

“The proposed plan is intended to advance discussions, provide a framework for resolution and support continued dialogue among all parties,” the statement said.

But Ed Caldie, a partner at Stinson in Minneapolis who represents the survivors’ committee, said in a Monday statement: “We believe the Archdiocese and its parishes and schools have substantially more assets that they should be contributing to compensate survivors.

“From the survivor perspective, this does not feel like progress, it feels like a significant step backwards.”

The plan was filed on the deadline set last month by Maryland U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner. May 29 is the deadline for objections.

The archdiocese is proposing to contribute its liquidation value, which it says is about $43.9 million.

The proposal includes $100 million from The Hartford insurance group and $25 million from insurers under the AIG umbrella. The parties are still negotiating with other insurance carriers.

The plan would allow affiliates to choose to enter an “abbreviated and streamlined” bankruptcy process, the archdiocese said. The amount they end up paying would be determined by the number of claims against them, among other factors.

The numbers put forward by the church and survivors appear to be inching closer together, but they remain far apart in the ongoing negotiations.

Last year, when the archdiocese said it and its affiliates would pay $33 million, survivors’ lawyers called that figure “insulting,” and the committee that represents survivors said they deserved nearly $900 million. Last month, the committee proposed a plan which would have the archdiocese and its affiliates pay more than $441 million.

But that plan was “unconfirmable,” according to the archdiocese’s bankruptcy trustee — an impartial, court-appointed figure that oversees the administration of the debtor’s assets. The trustee filed an opposition to the plan because it would force the affiliates into bankruptcy.

“Because the Bankruptcy Code prohibits the commencement of involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against non-profit corporations, the Plan is patently unconfirmable on its face,” wrote Hugh Bernstein, a U.S. Department of Justice official representing the trustee.

Meanwhile, many questions remain unresolved in the case.

There is ongoing litigation, for example, over the church’s objections to some survivors’ claims. The church filed objections to avoid duplicate claims and to exclude people who were abused when they were adults, among other reasons.

Furthermore, hearings are scheduled for next month on the survivors’ committee’s request to file a handful of lawsuits in civil court. That is a strategic negotiation tactic intended to put pressure on the archdiocese by moving the cases toward a trial by jury.

The committee is also seeking a declaration that the church and its affiliates be considered a single entity for the settlement. In an interim order last month, Harner allowed the affiliates to resume selling real estate, with notice and disclosure to the survivors’ committee — but that issue hasn’t reached a final resolution.

This story has been updated with Caldie’s statement.