SEATTLE (WA)
Spokesman-Review
Associated Press
April 1, 2006
SEATTLE – The Seattle Archdiocese has dug into its reserve funds to cover the cost of settling sex abuse claims, church officials said.
Payments to victims plus counseling and attorneys' fees now total $26 million over the past 19 years, a church audit showed. The archdiocese has paid the settlements and other expenses through a combination of insurance and reserve funds from the sale of property more than 20 years ago.
The information was released Thursday as part of a national update on clergy abuse.
The reserve fund was tapped because cumulative costs exceeded the archdiocese's self-insurance program, spokesman Greg Magnoni said.