LA church in $660 m payout over sexual abuse claims

LOS ANGELES – Hundreds of people who claim they were abused by clergy affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles can expect to be paid more than $1 million each in a $660 million settlement of their lawsuits.

The deal, by far the largest settlement in the church’s sexual abuse scandal, was reached on Saturday, said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff’s attorney. The archdiocese, America’s largest, and the plaintiffs were set to release a statement yesterday morning and hold a news conference today, he said.An anonymous source with knowledge of the deal placed its value at $660 million, by far the largest payout in the church’s sexual abuse scandal.The source spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been officially announced.The amount, which would average a little more than $1,3 million per plaintiff, exceeded earlier reports that the settlement would be between $600 million and $650 million.Some Roman Catholic orders – the Servites, Claretians and Oblates – will be carved out of the agreement because they refused to participate, the source said.The settlement also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, Boucher said.The settlements push the total amount paid out by the US church since 1950 to more than $2 billion, with about a quarter of that coming from the Los Angeles archdiocese.It wasn’t immediately clear how the payout would be split among the insurers, the archdiocese and several Roman Catholic religious orders.A judge must sign off on the agreement.The release of the priest documents was important to the agreement, Boucher said, because it could reveal whether archdiocesan leaders were involved in covering up for abusive priests.”Transparency is a critical part of this and of all resolutions,” he said.Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the archdiocese, did not immediately return a call seeking comment late on Saturday.Previously, he said the church would be in court today.Plaintiff Steven Sanchez, who was expected to testify in the first trial, said he was simultaneously relieved and disappointed.He sued the archdiocese claiming abuse by the late Reverend Clinton Hagenbach, who died in 1987.”I was really emotionally ready to take on the archdiocese in court in less than 48 hours, but I’m glad all victims are going to be compensated,” he said.”I hope all victims will find some type of healing in this process.”The settlement is the largest ever by a Roman Catholic diocese since the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in Boston in 2002.The largest payout so far has been by the Diocese of Orange, California, in 2004, for $100 million.Facing a flood of abuse claims, five dioceses – Tucson, Arizona; Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Davenport, Iowa, and San Diego – sought bankruptcy protection.Nampa-APThe archdiocese, America’s largest, and the plaintiffs were set to release a statement yesterday morning and hold a news conference today, he said.An anonymous source with knowledge of the deal placed its value at $660 million, by far the largest payout in the church’s sexual abuse scandal.The source spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the settlement had not been officially announced.The amount, which would average a little more than $1,3 million per plaintiff, exceeded earlier reports that the settlement would be between $600 million and $650 million.Some Roman Catholic orders – the Servites, Claretians and Oblates – will be carved out of the agreement because they refused to participate, the source said.The settlement also calls for the release of confidential priest personnel files after review by a judge assigned to oversee the litigation, Boucher said.The settlements push the total amount paid out by the US church since 1950 to more than $2 billion, with about a quarter of that coming from the Los Angeles archdiocese.It wasn’t immediately clear how the payout would be split among the insurers, the archdiocese and several Roman Catholic religious orders.A judge must sign off on the agreement.The release of the priest documents was important to the agreement, Boucher said, because it could reveal whether archdiocesan leaders were involved in covering up for abusive priests.”Transparency is a critical part of this and of all resolutions,” he said.Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the archdiocese, did not immediately return a call seeking comment late on Saturday.Previously, he said the church would be in court today.Plaintiff Steven Sanchez, who was expected to testify in the first trial, said he was simultaneously relieved and disappointed.He sued the archdiocese claiming abuse by the late Reverend Clinton Hagenbach, who died in 1987.”I was really emotionally ready to take on the archdiocese in court in less than 48 hours, but I’m glad all victims are going to be compensated,” he said.”I hope all victims will find some type of healing in this process.”The settlement is the largest ever by a Roman Catholic diocese since the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in Boston in 2002.The largest payout so far has been by the Diocese of Orange, California, in 2004, for $100 million.Facing a flood of abuse claims, five dioceses – Tucson, Arizona; Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Davenport, Iowa, and San Diego – sought bankruptcy protection.Nampa-AP