I apologize if this was posted already, but I thought it was interesting. Hopefully the Society is the next to pay up.
The full article can be found here...http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/08/08/priest.abuse/index.html
Boston archdiocese offers $55 million settlementLawyer: Hundreds who allege abuse considering termsFriday, August 8, 2003 Posted: 8:33 PM EDT (0033 GMT)
BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The Boston archdiocese has offered $55 million to settle an estimated 542 claims of clergy sex abuse, a lawyer representing alleged victims told CNN on Friday. Mitchell Garabedian, who represents 120 of the claimants, said it's not certain whether the offer will be accepted. "I am going to review it with my clients," Garabedian said. "There are a lot of details to go through." The church would not discuss the negotiations. "We don't make any comment about the substance of negotiations," said the Rev. Chris Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese. "There was a mediation meeting today. It went well, but we've agreed not to talk about it." Garabedian said a "significant aspect" of the offer was that the church would pay for counseling after the cases are settled. This is not the first settlement offer. Under Cardinal Bernard Law, the diocese offered $30 million to a smaller number of plaintiffs, and then backed out of the agreement when the archdiocese's finance council rejected the terms. The church then made a $10 million settlement offer in September 2002, which 86 of Garabedian's clients accepted. Law stepped down in December in the wake of the scandal, in which church officials are accused of shuttling priests from parish to parish after they were accused of sex abuse. Archbishop Sean O'Malley was installed as head of the diocese July 30. | ||||||
