Posted on 08/05/2015 12:59:09 PM PDT by Jyotishi
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Milwaukee Jerome E. Listecki, seen here in 2011, announced the archdiocese reached a $21 million settlement with 330 victims of sexual abuse by clergy members. Photo by Amg910/CC
MILWAUKEE, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced Tuesday it has agreed to pay $21 million to hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse by clergy, clearing the way for the archdiocese to emerge from its five-year bankruptcy.
Under the agreement, 330 of the 570 who filed sexual abuse claims in the bankruptcy will get financial settlements of varying amounts determined by a court-ordered administrator. The settlement also calls for a $500,000 therapy fund for abuse victims. The sum far exceeds the $4 million the archdiocese offered victims in February 2014. The settlement must be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley.
"Today, we turn the page on a terrible part of our history and we embark on a new road lined with hope, forgiveness and love," Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki said.
The dollar amount per victims is among the lowest in the many Roman Catholic Church bankruptcies nationwide filed to address sex abuse claims. In 2007, the San Diego diocese reached a nearly $200 million settlement with 144 people and in 2011 the Wilmington, Del. diocese settled for $77 million with 146 victims.
Critics are blasting the Milwaukee settlement as unjust and inadequate. Peter Isely, Midwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the average individual Milwaukee amount will be about $44,000, far less than the nationwide average of about $300,000.
"These rape victims were forced, literally, into settling with the church because if they did not, as laughably low as the compensation amount is, hundreds of victims would have received no compensation whatsoever," he said. "Settle now before hundreds of victims get tossed by the archdiocese (and, as the church lawyer said in court last month, they fully intend to 'spend down all the money'), or take the settlement. So, some victims chose to take less money for themselves so that other victims might get a little bit of help."
The Catholic church is a sick, sick, sick mess. Anyone who thinks it has been cleaned up is a fool.
If the settlement did not include an open admission and criminal action, it is hollow.
After raping their way through the lower 48 priests were sent to Alaska, where they devastated village after village, resulting in a suicide and alcoholism rate among Alaska Natives that is horrific. How anyone can belong to this abominable church is beyond me. My mother wanted her children to be catholic, but all four of us totally and completely rejected catholicism. Catholicism in our family died with her and all I can say is good riddance.
These abused were given stones.
That has been my main concern about all this homosexual/pedophilia stuff since the beginning. It is bad enough that the church let them in to the priesthood, it is so hard to get men to apply for the job, but they knowing allowed this to happen. Many have tried to justify the church by saying that only about 10% of the priest participated in these acts. But all of them knew about what was going on but did NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING to stop the abuse. Now they ask for forgiveness and love and oh yes drop your pants because it is still okay as long as we do not get caught. The church and the pope is rotten to the core. Pedophilia/homosexual priest? Hey we have to solve globull warming first and then income redistribution.
Same thing coming soon, IN SPADES, to your local Boy Sodomite troop.
That’s 21 million plus lawyer fees the people of Milwaukee put in the collection plate to do good with. To be sure, it wasn’t meant to pay off the sins of the priests.
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