Among developments in sex abuse cases, Lutherans reach settlement

Published: 2004-04-15

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- While there were several new Catholic developments in the ongoing sexual abuse issue in the first half of April, the biggest Easter Week story was the settlement reached by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 14 victims of a former Lutheran minister in Marshall, Texas. In the Texas case, involving multiple allegations of abuse by former Lutheran pastor Gerald P. Thomas Jr., the ELCA and several church entities including the seminary where Thomas studied reached an out-of-court settlement with the victims shortly before the case went to trial. The trial began April 13 against remaining defendants who did not participate in the settlement. According to some reports, the undisclosed settlement amounted to more than a million dollars per victim. Thomas was sentenced last year to 397 years in prison for molesting boys.

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