HARTFORD (CT)
The New York Times
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Published: November 1, 2005
HARTFORD, Oct. 31 - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford has agreed to pay $22 million to settle sexual abuse claims brought by 43 people against 14 priests, the archdiocese and lawyers for the victims announced on Monday.
Six of the priests are dead and at least one remains the pastor of a church because, the archdiocese said, it could not corroborate the accusations against him.
The group settlement resolves a two-year dispute and is the third such settlement reached with a Connecticut diocese since 2001. The two others involved the Diocese of Bridgeport, which said in 2003 that it had agreed to pay a total of $37.7 million to settle 89 claims involving 22 priests.
Settlement sums in abuse cases have varied nationwide. In Boston in 2003, the archdiocese settled for $85 million, but that was to be divided among more than 500 people. Lawyers for victims in the Hartford case said it was too soon to know how the money would be divided.