L.A. archdiocese settles 45 sex abuse cases for $60m

RAW STORYPublished: Friday December 1, 2006

The Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to pay $60 million to settle 45 sex abuse lawsuits.

According to the Associated Press," this will make it "the largest payout yet by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and among the biggest resulting from the molestation crisis that's plagued the church."

"Sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests has cost the U.S. church more than $1.5 billion since 1950," notes the Associated Press, in a summary of some of the largest payouts by the church over the last five years.

"I pray that the settlement of the initial group of cases will help the victims involved to move forward with their lives and to build a brighter future for themselves and their families," Cardinal Roger Mahony said in a statement.

Mahony told the Los Angeles Times that the settlement represented a "major effort at healing and reconciliation."

Excerpts from Associated Press report:
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The claims settled Friday involve 22 priests and include allegations from two periods when the archdiocese had limited or no insurance against sexual abuse claims - prior to the mid-1950s and after 1987.

Mahony said $40 million of the payment would come from the archdiocese, while $20 million would be from religious orders plus a small amount of independent insurance coverage.

Negotiations on the deal had been in progress for at least a year but were held up because attorneys for the plaintiffs wanted the church to release the accused priests' private personnel files.
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FULL AP ARTICLE AT THIS LINK