Archdiocese of LA reaches $880M settlement with sexual abuse survivors
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has reached a settlement of nearly $900 million with alleged victims of clerical sexual abuse, reportedly the largest of its kind to date.
In a letter on Wednesday, Archbishop Jose Gomez informed members of the California-based archdiocese that “we have reached a settlement with men and women who survived sexual abuse at the hands of priests and other clergy and individuals.”
Gomez stressed that he was “sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart,” and expressed hope that “this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.”
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“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,” he explained.
“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.”
Gomez detailed how funding for the 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.”
He assured the faithful that “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.”
According to Gomez, the settlement was the result of a 2019 California law that eliminated the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims for three years. During that period, around 1,900 claims of past allegations related the archdiocese were filed.
Gomez expressed confidence in the archdiocese’s efforts to confront “the consequences of past abuse by priests, clergy, and others working in the [Catholic] Church.”
He listed the provision of “pastoral care and financial support for survivors-victims to assist in their healing,” the enforcement of “strict background and reporting requirements” and the establishment of “extensive training programs to protect young people and to ensure safe environments in our parishes, schools, and other ministries” as examples.
“Today, as a result of these reforms, new cases of sexual misconduct by priests and clergy involving minors are rare in the Archdiocese,” Gomez claimed. “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.”
While Gomez did not explicitly identify the amount of the settlement, a statement published by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests noted that the archdiocese agreed to pay $880 million, which it described as “the largest settlement ever paid by the [Catholic] Church to date.” The advocacy organization asserted that the settlement money would be distributed to “1,353 victims of clergy sexual abuse.”
“While the settlement agreed to today is for a record amount, we know that no amount of money can ever truly compensate these brave men and women for the damage they suffered as children. However, we hope that these monies will bring some measure of healing to those who came forward,” SNAP stated.
“The LA Times reported that over 300 perpetrators have been accused in public records of sexually abusing children, yet SNAP’s list of abusers associated with the Archdiocese has over 500 names,” said SNAP Board of Directors Treasurer Dan McNevin, as quoted in the statement.
He added, “We fear and believe there are many more survivors out there who have not yet come forward. It is incumbent on Archbishop Jose H. Gomez to find a way to bring those lost souls in from the cold.”
Describing the settlement as a “good start,” SNAP expressed hope that “as a part of the Archbishop’s atonement, that he pledges to release all clergy personnel files related to all these cases, updates his list of abusers, and announces enhanced safeguards to protect today’s children.”
Contending that “much work remains to be done,” the organization declared that the general public and members of the diocese “deserve the entire truth about who the accused were, as well as who enabled the perpetrators and covered up the crimes.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
