Sex abuse victims may get vote on archdiocese compensation plans

Sex abuse victims and other creditors of the bankrupt Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will apparently get to vote on competing compensation plans.

A federal judge has approved summaries of two plans, and such approval is a prerequisite for a vote.

One plan comes from the archdiocese, which says the church provides the maximum financial compensation possible for abuse victims. That would be at least $155 million and potentially more than $160 million, according to the church.

But the committee representing abuse victims backs a different plan, contending the church and its insurers could come up with much more money.

Explore the full investigation Clergy abuse, cover-up and crisis in the Twin Cities Catholic church

"The survivors get a voice and a vote," said attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents hundreds of abuse survivors. "It gives them a chance to have a voice and fight the plan that the archdiocese is trying to cram down on them."

The archdiocese says its plan provides the maximum financial compensation possible for abuse victims.

Creditors don't have the final say about which plan is adopted. The court makes that decision.

A voting schedule could be set at a hearing next month.