‘No designated donations to parishes or schools or to archdiocesan-wide collections and campaigns will be used for the financing of this settlement.’
From The New York Times:
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest archdiocese, has agreed to pay $880 million to 1,353 people who say they were sexually abused as children. The settlement, which experts said was the highest single payout by an archdiocese, brings Los Angeles’s cumulative payout in sex abuse lawsuits to more than $1.5 billion.
The settlement was announced on Wednesday in a joint statement by lawyers for the plaintiffs and the archdiocese.
“I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart,” Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement. “My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.”
The agreement represents the near conclusion to decades of litigation against the archdiocese, with only a few suits remaining. In 2007, it reached a $660 million settlement in abuse lawsuits brought by 508 people who accused Catholic clergy and members of religious orders of abuse. Over the years, the archdiocese has sold off real estate, liquidated investments and taken out loans to cover the staggering costs of litigation.
Archbishop Gomez said in a statement that the new settlement would be paid through “reserves, investments and loans, along with other archdiocesan assets and payments that will be made by religious orders and others named in the litigation.” He said that donations designated for parishes, schools and specific mission campaigns would not be used for the settlement.
The archbishop’s full statement:
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
I want to inform you that we have reached a settlement with men and women who survived childhood sexual abuse at the hands of priests and other clergy and individuals serving in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart. My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.
Most of the alleged acts of abuse covered in this settlement took place more than fifty years ago, with a number of the cases dating back to the 1940s. Some of these acts are alleged to have been committed by Archdiocesan clergy, some by lay people, and some by religious order priests and clergy from other dioceses who were serving here.
As you know, for many years now the Archdiocese has been confronting the consequences of past abuse by priests, clergy, and others working in the Church. We provide pastoral care and financial support for survivor-victims to assist in their healing. We enforce strict background and reporting requirements, and we have established extensive training programs to protect young people and to ensure safe environments in our parishes, schools, and other ministries.
Today, as a result of these reforms, new cases of sexual misconduct by priests and clergy involving minors are rare in the Archdiocese. No one who has been found to have harmed a minor is serving in ministry at this time. And I promise: we will remain vigilant.
This new settlement is the result of a 2019 California law (Assembly Bill 218) that removed the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse civil claims for a period of three years. During that period, some 1,900 claims of past allegations of sexual misconduct were filed in which the Archdiocese was named.
Through a process of active mediation, I believe we have come to a resolution of these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivor-victims while also allowing the Archdiocese to continue to carry out our ministries to the faithful and our social programs serving the poor and vulnerable in our communities.
Following consultation with the auxiliary bishops, the College of Consultors, Council of Priests, the Archdiocesan Finance Council, and archdiocesan officials and other leaders in our Catholic community, we have determined that funding for this settlement will be drawn from reserves, investments, and loans, along with other Archdiocesan assets and payments that will be made by religious orders and others named in the litigation.
It is important for me to emphasize: No designated donations to parishes or schools or to archdiocesan-wide collections and campaigns, such as Together in Mission and Called to Renew, will be used for the financing of this settlement.
There is no question that in the months ahead there will be a great deal of uncertainty and hard decisions will be required. But please know that we will continue to be guided by the priorities of honoring our obligations to victims of past abuse while at the same time carrying out our mission to proclaim the Gospel and to serve our neighbors, not only in the present, but for generations to come.
Please know that you and your families are in my prayers, always.
And let us continue to pray for every person who has suffered childhood sexual abuse, which truly is a scourge that afflicts not only the Church, but every area of our society.
May all who suffer find hope and healing in Jesus Christ, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Angels, be a mother to us all. And may our loving God grant us peace.
Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
