KENTUCKY
Los Angeles Times
By P.J. Huffstutter, Times Staff Writer
COVINGTON, Ky. — Florence Valton arrives on the steps of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption most Saturday afternoons, drawn to the towering stained-glass windows by friends and faith.
But this weekend, the retiree said she came for hope and answers.
On Friday, the Diocese of Covington announced it had agreed to pay as much as $120 million to alleged victims of child molestation in cases stretching over five decades. The settlement, if approved this week by the Boone County Circuit Court, would be the largest sum the Roman Catholic Church has paid in its sexual abuse crisis.
"People are talking about wanting to start the healing process," said Valton, 62, who lives outside Covington. "I'm glad there is a conclusion to this, but it makes me ill to think this had been happening all those years."
Friday's announcement came after a class-action suit was filed against the diocese in February 2003 on behalf of more than 100 plaintiffs.
Two years ago, the diocese estimated that there had been more than 150 credible allegations of sexual abuse involving 30 priests since 1950.
Nationally, the crisis doesn't appear to be waning. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops found that 1,083 people reported in 2004 that they had been abused at some point. More than 300 of the reports identified new alleged abusers.