The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay out $880 million to settle 1,353 childhood sexual abuse claims. It is hoped the settlement will provide "just compensation" to victim-survivors and allow the local Church to continue to carry out its ministries.
The settlement was announced 16 October in a joint statement from the archdiocesan council and the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Most of the allegations took place more than fifty years ago, with many cases dating back to the 1940s. The allegations are against archdiocesan clergy, lay people associated with the archdiocese, and religious order priests and clergy from other dioceses who were serving in the archdiocese.
In a joint statement, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said that while no amount of money can eradicate the harm and pain inflicted on the victim-survivors, “there is justice in accountability".
“We are grateful to the brave survivors who came forward to hold those responsible accountable to protect the children of the future,” the lawyers said. “We appreciate the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for acknowledging its failures that enabled and perpetuated the harm that came to these children and remain hopeful that the Archdiocese will be vigilant in its efforts to prevent future abuses from occurring.”
The settlement brings the archdiocese’s cumulative payout to victim-survivors to more than $1.5 billion. The archdiocese previously came to a $660 million settlement with 500 victim-survivors in 2007.
In an 16 October letter to the faithful, Archbishop José Gomez offered an apology for the crimes that were committed.
“I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart,” Gomez said. “My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.”
Gomez highlighted that “for many years now” the archdiocese has confronted the consequences of abuse, and enhanced its safety protocols to prevent future instances. The archdiocese provides pastoral care and financial support for victim-survivors to assist in their healing, enforces strict background and reporting requirements, and has established extensive training programs to ensure safe environments across the archdiocese’s parishes, schools and other ministries.
As a result of these efforts, Gomez said new cases of sexual misconduct against priests and clergy in the archdiocese involving minors are “rare", adding that no one who has been found to have harmed a minority is serving in ministry at this time.
“And I promise: We will remain vigilant,” Gomez said.
The settlement is the result of a 2019 California law that removed the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse civil claims for a period of three years. During that period, the archdiocese was named in about 1,900 claims, according to Gomez.
“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,” Gomez said.
In recent years, the implications of the 2019 California law has led other state dioceses to file for bankruptcy to address claims – a move that has been criticised by activists as a method to delay payments to victim-survivors.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles <a href="https://angelusnews.com/local/la-catholics/ab218-abuse-settlement/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">did not take that route</mark></a>. Gomez said that the settlement would be paid 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 emphasised that no designated donations to parishes or schools, or to archdiocesan-wide collections and campaigns, 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,” Gomez said. “But please know that we will continue to be guided by the priorities of honouring our obligations to victims of past abuse while at the same time carrying out the mission to proclaim the Gospel and to serve our neighbours, not only in the present, but for generations to come".
<a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/sacramento-latest-diocese-to-file-for-bankruptcy-due-to-abuse-compensation-following-california-changing-statute-of-limitations/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><strong><em>RELATED: Sacramento latest diocese to file for bankruptcy due to abuse compensation after California changes statute of limitations</em></strong></mark></a>
<em>Photo: A full moon rises behind the snow-topped San Gabriel Mountains alongside the Los Angeles downtown skyline at sunset, Los Angeles, California, USA, 29 December 2020. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images.)</em>
