Ad reminds clergy abuse victims of deadline

MILWAUKEE — Victims of clergy sex abuse and a group of priests are urging other Milwaukee area victims to file for restitution in federal bankruptcy court before a Feb. 1 deadline.

They took out a full-page ad in Tuesday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and says it has less than $10 million available to pay claims.

As of late November, about 100 people had filed claims.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports four priests have been meeting quietly for about a year with victims, independent of the archdiocese.

At a news conference Tuesday, Father James Connell said a sense of hope emerged as the priests and victims listened to one another.