CALIFORNIA
Ventura County Star
January 9, 2005
Catholic leaders in Orange County on Monday announced details of a $100 million sexual-abuse settlement.
An Archdiocese of Los Angeles lawyer says a settlement offer could come within a month for 544 alleged victims, though lawyers and a judge will discuss civil court trials in a private meeting this week.
51 parishes closed in the Archdiocese of Boston in July 2004 with 29 more closings expected by this summer. Church officials say the closings are indirectly related to a 2003 sexual abuse settlement of $85 million.
Former Ventura County priest Michael Wempe, facing criminal charges of molestation in Los Angeles County, will appear in a pretrial hearing on Jan. 26.