New Orleans Catholic church offers $62.5m after abuse victims seek $1bn

Archdiocese's proposal comes as survivors of sexual abuse by clergy request very reasonable' $1bn to settle claims

With a self-imposed deadline looming to file a plan to reorganize New Orleans' bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese, a committee representing about 500 survivors of clergy sexual abuse in south-east Louisiana on Friday proposed that the organization, its affiliated churches, ministries, schools and their insurers should pay more than $1bn to settle their claims.

The archdiocese quickly answered with its counter-proposal: $62.5m, or more than $900m less.