New Orleans church’s proposed settlement with abuse survivors lays out ‘point’ system

Archdiocese has proposed a system based on type of abuse suffered by victims as part of its ongoing bankruptcy case

Documents filed recently in the New Orleans Roman Catholic archdiocese's five-year bankruptcy case provide more clarity on how claims will be doled out to victims of clergy abuse if a proposed settlement is approved. Points will be assigned to each abuse claim based on the severity of the abuse and its effects on each victim's life, but the records do not offer much clarity on how much actual money those points will be worth.

Claims that a Catholic church employee raped them will be worth twice as much money to abuse survivors as having a priest masturbate in front of them, four times more than if a cleric touched them under their clothes and seven times more than being shown pornography, according to details from a settlement disclosure statement filed and amended recently.