The Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced a massive $880 million settlement Wednesday for clergy abuse. Archbishop José Gomez expressed hope that this payment “will offer, in some way, some healing” for the victims.
Lawyers for both the victims and the archdiocese said in a joint press release that the nearly $1 billion settlement would address 1,353 allegations of child sexual abuse filed against the Californian archbishopric.
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The mediation process, conducted by Daniel Buckley, a retired California judge, lasted about a year.
Abuse survivors filed lawsuits against the archdiocese following the state’s enactment of California Assembly Bill 218 (known as AB 218), which gave victims a three-year window to file civil abuse lawsuits. that would otherwise have exceeded the statute of limitations.
In a letter released on WednesdayBishop Gomez said the settlement, the largest ever reached by a U.S. diocese or archdiocese, “will provide fair compensation to the surviving victims of these longstanding abuses.”
It would also allow the archdiocese to “continue to carry out our ministries to the faithful and our social programs in service of the poor and vulnerable in our communities.”
“From the bottom of my heart I regret each of these incidents,” the prelate said. “I am hopeful that this settlement will offer, in some way, some healing for what these men and women have suffered.”
The archdiocese said the total amount paid in recent settlements was more than $880 million. The settlement announced Wednesday was “in addition to claims the archdiocese has resolved with individual plaintiffs over the past 10 months,” he said. on your website.
Archdiocesan administrative offices will assume “primary financial responsibility” for the settlement, although the process of dividing the settlement among survivors will not involve the archdiocese.
In 2007, a “global settlement” of claims resulted in the waiver of insurance coverage for abuse claims, the archdiocese said. The settlement will be funded by “accumulated reserves and investment holdings, bank financing and other assets of the archdiocese, as well as payments from certain religious orders and other persons named in the litigation.”
Officials will conduct an “overall evaluation of all archdiocese programs and ministries” in order to “allocate funds responsibly and appropriately.”
The archdiocese will also use AB 218 complaints to update its clergy abuse files.
Bishop Gomez expressed his hope that “all who suffer will find their hope and healing in Jesus Christ” and that “the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Angels, will cover all of us with her motherly love.”
The historic settlement of $880 million is higher than the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ previous settlement of $660 million, awarded in 2007. Last month, the Diocese of Rockville Center in New York set a diocesan settlement record in USA with its payment of 323 million dollars to victims of abuse.
AB 218’s deadline for filing abuse claims expired in 2022. The archdiocese said the law resulted in “approximately 4,000 claims of child sexual abuse against Catholic dioceses in California,” including Los Angeles.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said this week that its agreement did not include a bankruptcy filing. As in many states, several California dioceses have filed for bankruptcy amid those abuse allegations, including San Francisco, Sacramento y Oakland.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Daniel Payne
Daniel Payne is senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.