Survivors of Guam clergy sexual assault are a step closer to obtaining compensation as a judge today is set to begin hearing arguments that would get the Archdiocese of Agana out of bankruptcy and pay claimants $34 million to $101 million, Pacific Daily News reported. “We’re almost at the finish line,” U.S. District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, who’s been serving as bankruptcy judge in the archdiocese case, said on the first day of the hearing. The remaining concerns about the plan related to the Boy Scouts of America, among other things, are expected to be addressed, and the judge assured of a “reasonable, fair, expeditious” decision. If the judge confirms or approves the fifth amended joint reorganization plan this week, payments could start reaching survivors in “90 to 120 days,” according to attorney Robert Kugler of Minneapolis-based Stinson LLP, counsel for the creditors committee. Attorney Edwin Caldie, also representing the creditors committee, told the court about the 99.3% support to the joint plan by abuse survivors, referring to the 152 votes to “accept” it versus only one vote to “reject” it. There are more than 270 Guam clergy sex abuse claims from those who said they were raped or sexually molested by parish priests and others associated with the Guam Catholic church as minors.
