BishopAccountability.org
	Los Angeles Abuse Cases Are Settled for $10 Million By Neela Banerjee New York Times [California] October 28, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/us/28settle.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin Washington, Oct. 27 — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and a Catholic religious order have agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims made by seven victims of sexual abuse by clergy members, lawyers for the parties involved said Friday. While the amount per victim is large relative to payments made to settle sexual abuse cases in other parts of the country, it is typical of the sums paid in California, which has a taken a strong stance toward the Catholic Church in abuse cases. In 2003, for example, the state extended its statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases, and the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has been conducting a criminal investigation into the archdiocese since 2002. More than 95 percent of the $10 million settlement will be paid by the religious order, the Carmelites, Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, which is based in Darien, Ill. The archdiocese will pay less than 5 percent, lawyers for the plaintiffs and the order said. The settlement for the most part is not covered by the Carmelites' insurance, said Jim Geoly, the order's lawyer, adding that the order might have to borrow money to pay the sum. Mr. Geoly said the order wanted to avoid protracted litigation, which he said would have amounted to going to war with the plaintiffs, "because that's what litigation is." "They are deeply sorry that this sexual abuse occurred and that the church didn't have more understanding of this kind of problem at the time," he said. "They want to do everything they can to make it right, even though money can't make the abuse go away." The seven plaintiffs accused four Carmelite priests and one Carmelite brother of sexual abuse in a period from the early 1950s to the late 1970s. Several of the claims focused on the Rev. Dominic Savino, who held several high-ranking faculty positions at Crespi Carmelite High School in the Encino section of the city before he was removed from the ministry in 2002. One plaintiff accused Father Savino and another priest of raping him at the school when he was 15 and continuing the abuse from 1978 to 1979, said John C. Manly, a lawyer for the plaintiff. Mr. Manly and victims' rights groups welcomed the decision by the Carmelites, though they said that it had been hard-won. "I'm glad Carmelites did the right thing," said Mr. Manly, himself a Catholic, "but I think that's what's ultimately wrong with the Catholic Church: you shouldn't have to sue your church to get them and the bishop to do the right thing."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.