The Milwaukee Archdiocese has agreed to a $21 million settlement with victims of clergy abuse. The tentative deal is the first step toward ending the Archdiocese's bankruptcy case.
The Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in January of 2011. Nearly 600 men and women then filed sexual abuse claims.
Archbishop Jerome Listecki announced Tuesday that 330 of them would share the $21 million settlement. In addition, $500,000 would be set aside for victims to access therapy.
Listecki says the settlement allows the Archdiocese to "turn the page on a terrible part of our history." A spokesman for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests called the deal a mass betrayal and an exploitation of bankruptcy rules.
A bankruptcy judge will hold a court hearing in November, to review the terms of the agreement.
