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Topics: Sexual Abuse, California, Religion, News, Los Angeles, Money
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Sexual Abuse, California, Religion, News, Los Angeles, Money
Over 1,000 sexual abuse victims are set to receive a chunk of an $880 million settlement in a historic payout from the Catholic church.
On Wednesday (October 16), the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay the large sum of money to settle claims of clergy sexual abuse dating back to the 1940s.
1,353 people came forward with allegations of child sexual abuse in the complaint after California’s Assembly Bill 218 was enacted in 2019.
This increased the amount of time survivors of childhood sexual abuse have to file a law suit against their abuser, The Zalkin Law Firm explains.
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As per Forbes, it also allowed civil claims of older sexual abuse cases involving minors to be reopened.
The landmark win comes after the Catholic church previously paid $740 million to victims in various settlements, making the total of damages paid out over the years to be a staggering $1.5 billion.
Most of the allegations covered by the most recent agreement happened more than 50 years ago, Angelus News reports.
More than 300 priests who worked in the archdiocese in Los Angeles over this timeframe have been accused of sexual abuse, but priests facing such claims are no longer in the ministry.
LA Archbishop José H. Gomez has penned an open later following the settlement being reached.
Part of it read: "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."
While there were over 1,000 alleged cases of sexual abuse, Gomez insisted that 'new cases of sexual misconduct by priests and clergy involving minors are rare in the Archdiocese' as a result of new background reporting requirements, training programs, and pastoral care.
He added: "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."
"There is no question that in the months ahead, there will be a great deal of uncertainty and hard decisions will be required," Gomez continued further on in the letter.
"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 eat."
The settlement in currently 'in principle', meaning all parties have agreed to the terms, but are yet to sign anything.
Victims are expected to be paid in 2025 and 2026.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.