05:20 PM MST on Friday, May 27, 2005

Arizona Daily Star

Victims of sexual abuse by clergy with valid claims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson could be paid from a pot of more than $20 million.

A revised "amended disclosure statement" that accompanies the diocese's federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorgnization plan was filed late Thursday in federal court.

The revised statement says the diocese's minimum contribution to settlements with victims is $15.7 million, with additional money contributions possible as the diocese continues to pursue settlements with insurers.

A previous disclosure statement had proposed capping the settlement contribution at $20 million, but that ceiling limit was removed in the new document.

Creditors have until Tuesday to file objections to the new statements. A hearing in front of federal bankruptcy judge James M. Marlar is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Under the new revised statement, plaintiffs with valid abuse claims will receive an initial monetary disbursement of up to $600,000 this year.

The amended disclosure statement is still subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and two-thirds of the diocese's creditors.

The document submitted by the diocese's bankruptcy lawyers reiterates a "tier" structure to pay plaintiffs. Marlar has already approved placing the Rodriguez family of Yuma in tier four - the tier that will receive at least $600,000 in an initial payment, with the possibility of more money in the future.

Three brothers in the Rodriguez family - two of whom are still teen-agers - had a pending lawsuit against the diocese on Sept. 20 when it filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

The brothers say they were repeatedly raped by the Rev. Juan Guillen, a Yuma priest now serving a 10-year state prison sentence. Guillen, the former associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, in Yuma, pleaded guilty in 2003 to two counts of attempted child molestation as part of a plea agreement.

Under the reorganization plan, the claims will be put into four different tiers depending on the egregiousness of the abuse. A fifth tier will be for parents of abuse plaintiffs.

A separate tier with proposed payments of $300,000 per claimant is being proposed for plaintiffs whose suits named both the diocese of Tucson and dioceses in California.

That group of plaintiffs includes four men who say they were sexually abused by the Rev. Kevin Barmasse while they were parishioners in youth groups he led at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Sierra Vista and at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, 8650 N. Shannon Road, during the 1980s.

The bankruptcy court has logged 103 claims against the diocese, but they must be approved by the court as valid before claimants are eligible to receive any settlement money.

In court documents, the diocese said that of the 103 sex-abuse claims, 36 appeared to be invalid; nine were filed by parents of alleged victims; and 32 appeared plausible but require more information or appear to be barred by the statute of limitations.

The diocese's amended statement proposes that contested claims go to a special arbitrator, and suggested the court appoint retired Pima County Superior Court Judge Lina Rodriguez.

The diocese, which oversees 350,000 Catholics in an area that spreads across nine counties, filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sept. 20 in the face of 22 pending lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by priests who once worked in the diocese.

The diocese's entire bankruptcy plan could be approved within the next 60 days. Final conformation hearings are scheduled for July 11-15.

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©The Arizona Daily Star, 2005