After the announcement of the agreement in principle, Archbishop
José H. Gomez said in a statement, "I am sorry for every one of
these incidents, from the bottom of my heart.”
“My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of
healing for what these men and women have suffered,” the
archbishop added. “I believe that we have come to a resolution
of these claims that will provide just compensation to the
survivor-victims of these past abuses.”
Attorneys for 1,353 people who allege that they suffered
horrific abuse at the hands of local Catholic priests reached
the settlement after months of negotiations with the
archdiocese, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The agreement caps a quarter-century of litigation against the
most populous archdiocese in the United States.
Attorneys in the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee said in a joint
statement, “While there is no amount of money that can replace
what was taken from these 1,353 brave individuals who have
suffered in silence for decades, there is justice in
accountability.”
Under the settlement, the plaintiffs will engage in a process—
that will not involve the archdiocese — to allocate the
settlement amount among the participants.
The archdiocese has previously paid $740 million to victims in
various settlements and had pledged to better protect its church
members, so this settlement would put the total payout at more
than $1.5 billion, the Times said.
Attorney Morgan Stewart, who led the negotiations, said in a
statement that the settlement is the largest single child sex
abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese.
“These survivors have suffered for decades in the aftermath of
the abuse. Dozens of the survivors have died. They are aging,
and many of those with knowledge of the abuse within the church
are too. It was time to get this resolved,” Stewart told the
Times.
The settlement will be funded by archdiocese investments,
accumulated reserves, bank financing, and other assets.
According to the archdiocese, certain religious orders and
others named in the litigation will also cover some of the cost
of the settlement, the Times said.
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