Diocese of Oakland's plan to settle with sexual assault survivors receives pushback

The Diocese of Oakland is facing significant pushback over its plan to settle hundreds of lawsuits.

The diocese entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings last year, overwhelmed by lawsuits over sexual abuse.

In a proposal filed Friday, the diocese is offering far less than other similar settlements in California.

"It's a definite message and the message is 'You are not important.' The message is 'We don't care!'" said attorney Rick Simons.

That outrage was directed at the Diocese of Oakland. Simons represents numerous church sex assault survivors.

On Friday, the diocese filed a plan of reorganization with the bankruptcy court.

In a press release, the diocese says it will create a trust for sexual abuse survivors worth between $160 and $198 million to pay out 345 claims.

But court documents show the initial installment is only $65 million.

"First off, it's not a hundred and some odd million dollars worth of cash, it's $60 million in cash and $10 million a year for four years. They keep that money, investing it and making money off of it all that time while inflation eats away of the value to survivors. It is, again, just plain insulting. It is nowhere near what Los Angeles did," Simons said.

Simons is referencing the $880 million that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles settled on recently in their sex abuse cases. The difference there though, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles never filed for bankruptcy.

Dan McNevin is a volunteer with SNAP, which stands for "Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests." His thoughts about the proposed monetary figures echo those of Simons.

"I think it's pretty pathetic. It's pretty low. This is a really, really wealthy Diocese and there is a lot of victims. ..."

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