SIOUX CITY (IA)
Sioux City Journal
The Diocese of Sioux City settled 19 sexual abuse claims against priests in 2005 for more than $1.8 million.
The diocese settled the claims for $1,835,000, of which 69 percent was covered by insurance. The diocese paid $457,500 of the costs and George McFadden, $96,250. McFadden was named in all but one of the claims.
The diocese settled 11 claims in 2004 for $805,000.
Since 2003, 28 lawsuits have been filed against the diocese, all but one of them naming McFadden. Five of them are pending, 22 were settled and the remaining one was dismissed by a judge, a decision now on appeal. Now retired, McFadden has been stripped of his priestly duties, and the Vatican has ordered him not to present himself as a priest.
In a news release Thursday, the diocese announced that it has been found in full compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The ruling was made by the Gavin Group, a national research organization that has audited U.S. dioceses for the past three years