Boston Archdiocese to settle with 88 abuse victims

Published: 2006-03-10

BOSTON (CNS) -- The Boston Archdiocese said March 9 that 88 people with clergy sexual abuse claims have agreed to a settlement in which an arbitrator will determine how much compensation each receives. Awards are to range from $5,000 to $200,000, averaging about $75,000 per person. "The archdiocese presented this settlement program in good faith to compensate those survivors who have been abused by priests of the archdiocese and to do so in a way that is sensitive to the pastoral needs of the survivors," the archdiocese said in a statement. Arbitrator Paul A. Finn was to hold hearings with victims in March and April and determine the awards by May 8 so that victims could receive compensation by May 15. About 100 other abuse claims are not addressed in the March 9 settlement. Of these, 30 will be offered arbitration in which the arbitrator determines whether or not abuse occurred. The other 70 involve allegations against lay employees or against priests who were not from the archdiocese, or allegations by people who were no longer minors at the time of the alleged abuse. Archdiocesan spokeswoman Kelly Lynch said those would be decided on a "case by case basis."

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