January 09, 2006

Church abuse back in court

KENTUCKY
The Cincinnati Post

By Brett Barrouquer
Associated Press

Receiving a settlement check for sexual abuse at the hands of a priest didn't stop Kay Montgomery's memories of what happened to her.

Montgomery, who settled with the church in January 2005 for an undisclosed amount, thinks victims in the class-action lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington will find a similar lack of satisfaction.

"It would be nice if it were that easy," said the woman abused as a teenager in the 1960s by a priest from Blessed Sacrament Church in Fort Mitchell, Ky. "We still have to live our lives and deal with what happened to us."

The victims in the case against the Covington Diocese have another day in court today when Judge John W. Potter is expected to rule on whether to grant final approval to the proposed settlement of up to $120 million, which would let the church and insurance companies begin paying some of the 373 victims - among the largest pools of known victims in the country. The hearing is in Boone County Circuit Court .

Posted by kshaw at January 9, 2006 10:32 AM