Archbishop Michael Request for Prayers

In his letter published in the Umatuna dated March 8, 2020, Archbishop Michael Byrnes told the faithful to remain steadfast in their faith and request for prayers.  According to Archbishop Michael (the bold and underlined is mine):

Unfortunately, I must disclose at this time that proceeds from the sale of assets are now depleted and the further liquidation of assets, the source we identified for funding the legal costs, is currently blocked by the bankruptcy process. 

Since mid-January, the Archdiocese has been forced to begin using general operating funds to cover legal fees, not just for its legal representation but as the debtor, for that of the unsecured creditors' committee.  This committee is comprised of representatives of those with claims against the Archdiocese and their legal team costs are significant.  Each day that passes without agreement about the way forward, and each dollar that goes away from the Archdiocese greatly affect our ability to reach the best possible resolution with the victims of clergy abuse.  

 Our attorneys continue to communicate with the legal counsel of the claimants.  Both sides are devoting much time and work in the process.  However, we pray - and we ask prayers from everyone - for a more expedient resolution to the entire process.  We especially pray that legal counsel of both sides would be able to reach agreements that ultimately would provide for healing, justice and compensation for the victims and survivors with much timeliness.  

Once more, I reiterate that with each day that passes, resources of our Archdiocese are being diminished. Our schools, parishes and other ministries would enter greater peril of discontinuing or closing if settlement negotiations span a prolonged period of time. Most importantly, with the depletion of our funds, the amount of compensation for the victims of clergy abuse also faces tremendous reduction. 

It has been over a year since the Archdiocese of Agana had filed for bankruptcy, thinking it would be more cost effective than going through a long legal battle in court.  With the way things are going now; perhaps, it probably would have been more cost effective to go through a legal battle.  Why is it taking so long to reach resolution?  For one, the alleged victims are not satisfied with the money they are getting.  According to the Guam Daily Post, the Archdiocese is pushing for a global settlement, but many of the alleged victims opposed it.  According to Pacific News Center, Attorney David Lujan stated in his interview:

"Well right now we don't know so of course we'll play it according to the harm that each claimant or plaintiff suffered," answered Lujan. 

Although a cash payout can seem enticing, Lujan says not all his clients may agree to it.   

“It’s not going to be a one-time settlement, it’s going to be an individual settlement. So as each case is evaluated and let’s say it’s settled, some I expect will settle and some I expect will not settle because perhaps the offer that is being given is too low. It depends on the particular plaintiff,” said Lujan. 

So, it appears that mediation is taking more time because some of the alleged victims feel that they deserve more money than other alleged victims. And as each day passes without any settled agreement, the resources of the Archdiocese are being diminished.  In time, our Catholic schools, parishes and other ministries would be shut down.  If mediation was going to take a very long time, perhaps the Archdiocese should have taken it to court rather than settle out of court.  That is only my opinion. 

Furthermore, the number of sexual allegations continue to rise even after the August 15, 2019 deadline.  The latest one was just filed yesterday (see the story here).  As more and more sexual allegation lawsuits continue to rise against the Archdiocese, the compensation for these alleged victims are being greatly reduced, which would lead to more dissatisfaction among the alleged victims and a lengthy mediation process.  The only winners in this case would be the lawyers.