Guest guest Posted September 10, 2003 Report Share Posted September 10, 2003 from www.nytimes.com > Church in Boston to Pay $85 Million in Abuse Lawsuits > By FOX BUTTERFIELD > > > BOSTON, Sept. 9 — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston agreed today to > pay $85 million to settle almost 550 lawsuits by people who say they were > sexually abused by priests. The settlement is the largest ever by an > American diocese to resolve accusations of sexual abuse involving members > of the clergy. > > The deal was reached after three days of intense negotiations, and it > represents a personal triumph for Boston's new archbishop, Sean P. > O'Malley, who in a highly unusual gesture met with lawyers and mediators > in a secret session on Sunday that lasted till midnight. > > Archbishop O'Malley took over in Boston only in late July, seven months > after the former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, resigned under > pressure, and the new prelate made resolving the sexual abuse scandal his > first priority. > > "Archbishop O'Malley's role was pivotal," said Roderick MacLeish Jr., a > lawyer whose firm represents 260 victims. "If he had not been present on > Sunday, these cases would not have settled. He has a way with people, and > he was able to make phone calls and arrange the money and several of the > other conditions." > > Under the terms of the agreement, victims will each receive $80,000 to > $300,000. The amount will be determined by a mediator and will be based on > the type and duration of abuse, according to a memorandum of understanding > submitted in court today. The archdiocese also agreed to finance > psychological counseling for the victims. > > The settlement represents a striking turnaround for the archdiocese, which > under Cardinal Law used hard-line legal tactics to resist lawsuits from > sexual abuse victims. And some Catholic leaders said the decision would > put pressure on bishops in other cities to compensate victims. [News > analysis, Page A14.] > > All the awards will be paid by Christmas, the document says. This was a > demand of the plaintiffs, Mr. MacLeish said, to avoid worries that the > settlement would go on indefinitely. Mr. MacLeish credited Archbishop > O'Malley for meeting that condition. > > Most of the victims have not yet read the agreement, Mr. MacLeish said. At > least 80 percent of them must accept its terms within 37 days for it to go > into effect. Mr. MacLeish was optimistic that the condition would be met. > But two victims, Greg Ford and Paul Busa, have said they will not > participate in the settlement but are willing to work out individual deals > with the archdiocese. > > Other victims, however, expressed relief at the settlement. Gary Bergeron, > 41, who says he was abused as a boy by the Rev. Joseph Birmingham, said: > "From this day forward, in the eyes of you people and in the eyes of the > church, I am not an alleged victim of clergy abuse. I am recognized. I am > a survivor." > > Bernie McDaid, 41, who was abused as a boy, said that after so many years > of living with the experience of having been molested and then of the > church's resistance to helping him, today's settlement seemed surreal. > > "It's almost like, pinch me, is it real?" Mr. McDaid said. > > The deal was made official when lawyers for both sides presented it this > afternoon to Judge Constance Sweeney of Suffolk County Superior Court. > Judge Sweeney has been overseeing the lawsuits. > > Archbishop O'Malley was in Washington today, attending a meeting of the > United States Catholic Conference. But a spokesman for the archdiocese, > the Rev. Christopher Coyne, said in a statement, "We are pleased that the > parties involved were able to arrive at what we feel is a just and > equitable settlement offer to the plaintiffs and their families." > > In a separate news conference, Father Coyne said that some of the $85 > million for the settlement would come from the sale of up to 15 church > properties. But most of it will come from church insurance policies. > Church officials have said that Archbishop O'Malley would sue the > insurance companies, if necessary, to obtain the money. > > None of the settlement money will come from parish funds or from Catholic > Charities, the largest provider of services to the needy in Boston, Father > Coyne said. > > The lawyers will get automatic payments of $750,000 to cover their legal > fees. Each law firm will also receive one-third of the amount each client > gets in his settlement, a standard contingency fee, several of the lawyers > said. > > If any victim does not agree to arbitration or other items in the > settlement, the total amount to be paid out will be reduced > proportionately. > > Mr. MacLeish said that several of the nonfinancial terms of the settlement > were also critical to winning approval from the victims, and that here > again, Archbishop O'Malley had played a crucial role. > > Among these terms are a provision for continued free psychological > counseling covered by the archdiocese, with the records to be kept > confidential. Mr. MacLeish said that in the past the church had had access > to the victims' counseling records and had tried to use them against the > victims, in some cases. It deterred some victims from going for > counseling, he said. > > "On Sunday night, Archbishop O'Malley agreed to keep the information > confidential," Mr. MacLeish said. > > In addition, Archbishop O'Malley also agreed to a demand to add victims to > church boards that will examine archdiocese policies on priests accused of > sexual abuse, Mr. MacLeish said. > > The settlement is a major step in ending the sexual abuse scandal in > Boston, one of the nation's most Catholic cities. Since it broke in early > 2002, the crisis has seriously damaged the archdiocese, with attendance > and giving at churches dropping and new organizations springing up to > represent lay people and priests, both demanding a greater voice in the > church. > > Many Jo Bane, a professor of public policy and management at the Kennedy > School of Government at Harvard, said Archbishop O'Malley's action "was > the most important thing he had to do" to restore confidence among > Catholics in Boston. > > "We don't know how he is going to be theologically," said Professor Bane, > a Catholic who lives in Dorchester. "But a lot of things he has done are > just right — not moving into the cardinal's fancy residence, not worrying > about spending the money, and keeping his simple robes." Archbishop > O'Malley wears the coarse brown habit of a medieval Franciscan over his > sandals. > > "It sends the message that should have been sent from the beginning," > Professor Bane said. > > Archbishop O'Malley first earned a reputation for dealing with sexual > abuse by priests a decade ago when he was made bishop in Fall River, an > old industrial city south of Boston, that had been rocked by an earlier > scandal involving a former priest, James Porter. > > One of his first acts was to hire a Boston lawyer, Paul H. Hannigan Jr., > to help him settle more than 100 lawsuits against the diocese resulting > from Mr. Porter's sexual assaults on children. Mr. Hannigan negotiated the > suits with Mr. MacLeish, who represented most of Mr. Porter's victims, and > Mr. MacLeish recalled that he was easily able to establish a good working > relationship with both Bishop O'Malley and Mr. Hannigan. > > In turn, immediately after being installed as archbishop in Boston in > July, Archbishop O'Malley hired Mr. Hannigan again, replacing the team of > lawyers who had worked for Cardinal Law. Their aggressive tactics, > including issuing subpoenas for the victims' psychiatric records, had > generated great antagonism. > > Nine days after being installed in Boston, Archbishop O'Malley made an > initial offer of $55 million to settle the lawsuits here. When the lawyers > for the victims rejected the offer, Archbishop O'Malley soon raised it to > $65 million. > > Then, when the lawyers said that by their calculations it would take $90 > million to $120 million to settle the suits, Archbishop O'Malley raised > his offer again, to the $85 million figure accepted today. > > As an indication of the how widely the sexual abuse scandal affected > Boston, the Massachusetts attorney general, Thomas F. Reilly, concluded > after an investigation that more than 1,000 minors were abused by more > than 235 priests from 1940 to 2000, according to the church's own records. > Many of the priests, after their misconduct was reported by the victims or > their family members, were transferred from parish to parish by the > archdiocese's leaders, without warning to the new churches, Mr. Reilly > found. > > The first case to become public, in a series of articles in The Boston > Globe, was typical of these. It involved a priest, John J. Geoghan, who > was accused of molesting almost 150 young people but was repeatedly moved > from parish to parish with the approval of Cardinal Law and his > predecessors. Mr. Geoghan, 68, was convicted last year of molesting a > 10-year-old boy and sentenced to prison, where he was strangled last month > by another inmate. > > While today's settlement is the largest ever by an American diocese, the > amount per person may be smaller than that received by victims in some > other cases. > > In a comparable settlement, the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., paid $26 > million to 243 victims last June. > > Lawyers for the victims said they believed the church would initially have > to borrow money to make the $85 million payments by Christmas, before > selling property and going to its insurance providers. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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