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The Archdiocese of New Orleans is one step closer to ending its bankruptcy. Attorneys for the diocese and sex abuse survivors have filed a plan that outlines ways to make sure child sex abuse never happens again. The plans appear to create additional transparency. Sealed records will also soon be public through an archive. The records will be hosted online by a university that agrees to archive the files. The Archdiocese of New Orleans Issued the following statement:”In a major milestone in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the archdiocese and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents abuse survivors, have reached agreement in the non-monetary plan provisions to be included in the Bankruptcy Plan.”Non-monetary plan provisions are meant to enhance the existing child protection programs of the archdiocese by improving public accountability and transparency. They also outline ways that the Archdiocese of New Orleans will once again publicly apologize for the sexual abuse crisis and continue to honor the strength of survivors. “The archdiocese and committee together designed the plan provisions using best practices to prevent child sexual abuse from happening in church ministry into the future. Coming to agreement on these plan provisions has been considered critical to both sides in terms of creating a gold standard in child protection programs and moving the bankruptcy forward.The church is committed to protecting children and preventing the evil of child sexual abuse from occurring in our Catholic parishes, schools, and ministries, said Archbishop Aymond. I welcome this progress in our reorganization, but more importantly, I welcome the new means to strengthen our existing, effective programs for the safety and security of our children in all of our ministries. It is my prayer that our work with the committee will continue to be collaborative keeping the survivors at the forefront of decisions.”The complete list of nonmonetary plan provisions will be filed with the court by both the archdiocese and the committee as part of their Restructuring Plans while they continue negotiations on a monetary settlement in the hopes of reaching a consensual plan. Mediation sessions resume this month, and it is the hope of the archdiocese that these negotiations will be fruitful and bring the two sides closer to finalizing these proceedings fairly and equitably.”A statement from Andy Caine of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, who represents the victims in the bankruptcy case, reads:”In a notable milestone in the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the Roman Catholic Church Archdiocese of New Orleans (the ‘Archdiocese’), the Archdiocese and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the ‘Committee’), which represents sexual abuse survivors, have reached an agreement regarding the non-monetary child protection provisions to be included in each of their proposed bankruptcy plans. The Committee is represented by James Stang, Andrew Caine, and Iain Nasatir of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones (‘PSZJ’), and Omer Kuebel, Brad Knapp, and Steven Bryant of Locke Lord. “The Committee has repeatedly demanded that the Archdiocese commit to enhanced child protection policies and procedures toward the critical goal of preventing future child sexual abuse in church ministry, including improved public accountability and transparency, internal and external oversight, treatment for survivors, and public apologies and recognition. The agreed upon provisions, which were heavily negotiated for over two years, begin with the Archdioceses pledge to continue to clearly state that child protection and the prevention of sexual abuse is of paramount importance, that will not compromise the protection of Children from Child Sexual Abuse and is committed to the care and well-being of survivors of abuse.”The complete agreed upon nonmonetary provisions have been filed with the court by both parties as part of their respective Restructuring Plans. In sum, the provisions include:”(a) the retention of a third-party Child Protection consultant to continue to recommend further protection policies and procedures;”(b) the creation of new Youth Protection Advisor and Youth Protection Executive roles, tasked with coordination and monitoring of child protection procedures and compliance;”(c) Enhanced procedures and regular meetings of the Archdiocese Independent Review Board to review allegations of credible abuse, appointment of a survivor member to the Board, and creation of opportunities for survivors to seek review of claims and alleged perpetrators;”(d) Improved intake and handling of claims;”(e) Stringent requirements for mandatory reporting of claims to law enforcement;”(f) Treatment and other services for survivors;”(h) A publicly available university archive of accused priest files and related abuse documents;”(h) Public apologies by the Archbishop and anti-abuse and remembrance plaques;”(i) A forum for survivors to tell their stories;”(j) Enhanced monitoring and public reporting of compliance with the provisions;”(k) Enforcement of compliance by survivor representatives.”The strongest possible protections for children and other sexual abuse survivors are of critical importance to the Committee as the representative of the hundreds of survivors of abuse in this Archdiocese. The Committee has tirelessly advocated for these enhanced provisions as essential to any path forward for the Archdiocese to exit bankruptcy, said Andy Caine, of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones.My highest priority as a representative of the survivor community is to work to ensure that no child is ever harmed again. We all have family and friends who need protection, and I will not be deterred from that goal, said Patricia Moody, the committee chair.The parties continue negotiations on a monetary settlement in the hopes of reaching a consensual plan to finalize the bankruptcy proceedings with fair and just compensation for and treatment of survivors. James Adam, a survivor of sex abuse, issued the following statement regarding the plan: “I congratulate the Committee and the Archdiocese for finally reaching an agreement on the non-monetary portion of the plan. “The plan does provide a lot of common sense solutions to help protect children and vulnerable adults. Its sad that it has taken 4 and a half years and more than $40MM for the Archdiocese to finally agree to follow the law and the USCCBs own 2002 charter for the protection of children. Better late than never. “Im happy that the ANO finally agrees that abuse documents were never actually confidential documents. “It is frustrating that the ANO spent so much time and money trying to keep information hidden from the public, only to make it publicly available in the end.”The non-monetary portion is an important part of the plan and it certainly seems fair and reasonable, and for that, I thank the Committee and the debtor for reaching this point. “However, it is also an exhibit of the plans filed by the Committee and the Archdiocese and those plans are still light-years apart from reaching a final settlement. “Perhaps in light of the recent plans offered by Archbishop Aymonds brother bishops in Los Angeles and in Rockville Center, maybe Abp. Aymond will follow their roadmap in reaching a fair settlement for the monetary portion of the plan. “This does seem like an odd point for celebration. Theres still a very large gap between both sides. But after 4 and half years, any agreement may be considered a milestone. “Theres still a lot of ground to cover before we see both parties agreeing on the total value of the hundreds of sexual assault and rape claims filed against the ANO. “I remain hopeful, under the leadership of the Committee, abuse survivors will be fairly treated as they continue their efforts to restoring their lives. Guided by JUSTICE, we all look forward to a fair conclusion of this case.”