Boston Archdiocese to Settle Claims for $85 Million

BOSTON (MA)
Zenit

BOSTON, Massachusetts, SEPT. 9, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The Boston Archdiocese has agreed to pay $85 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits filed by people who say they were sexually abused by priests, attorneys representing the plaintiffs said.

The deal, reached after talks involving Archbishop Sean O’Malley, would be the largest known sexual abuse settlement in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States, Reuters reported today.

“The deal has been sealed,” said Marcia Brier, a spokeswoman for the law firm Greenberg Traurig, which represents about 260 of the roughly 540 plaintiffs who brought clergy sexual abuse claims against the Church.

In a statement, Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. episcopate, said: “This is an important agreement. It demonstrates that the Church is committed to working out just settlements which seek to meet, to the extent possible, the needs of people who have suffered terribly. I hope that all the victims will choose to participate in this global settlement.”