CALIFORNIA
MSNBC
By ANN PEPPER
The Orange County Register USA - The fate of the $100 million settlement between the Catholic Diocese of Orange and alleged sexual-abuse victims balanced, in the end, atop a stack of personnel documents that plaintiffs demanded be made public.
Plaintiffs say the records show how they were victimized as children, when the diocese knew about it and how local church leaders responded.
For many, money meant little compared with securing the release of the documents and an apology from the church.
The deal-breaker issue pushed negotiations into the late hours of Dec. 2 - that last of four days in which everything from tough judges to an inhospitable courthouse played roles.
Other hurdles had been cleared earlier in the year.
Posted by kshaw at January 4, 2005 12:35 PM