DUBUQUE (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
February 22, 2006
The Dubuque archdiocese on Tuesday became the second Iowa Catholic district to approve a multimillion-dollar settlement to a group of men and women who were child victims of sexually abusive priests.
Archbishop Jerome Hanus approved payment of a total of $5 million to 20 people. He also issued public and private apologies to victims and agreed to make public the names of all church personnel against whom allegations of sexual abuse of minors have been "sustained."
The agreement, reached through private mediation, was announced by Waterloo attorneys Thomas Staack and Chad Swanson. It is the second agreement between abuse survivors and a Catholic diocese in Iowa. The first was reached in October 2004 when the Davenport Diocese agreed to pay $9 million to 37 men who said they were sexually abused by priests.