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	Catholic Diocese Pays $1.2 Million in Cases By Jim Nesbitt News & Observer [Raleigh NC] January 5, 2007 http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/528969.html The Catholic Diocese of Raleigh paid almost $1.2 million last year to settle five sexual abuse complaints from the 1960s and 1970s against two priests -- about double the amount expected, an annual audit shows. The one-year payout raises the diocese total to more than $1.9 million paid since 1950 to settle claims of sexual misconduct by 37 people against at least 15 priests, diocese spokesman Frank Morock said. Two priests were exonerated by diocese officials during those years, and all are either dead or retired. In addition, the audit says diocese officials and lawyers plan to contest three other potential claims from the 1950s and one from the 1960s that might result in legal action -- a stance that advocates for abuse victims say will intimidate other victims. "It clearly says 'Come forward if you want to, but we're going to fight you tooth and nail,' " said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. "Bishops and their lawyers still hope that, over time, victims will give up and go away and struggle with the lifelong struggle they've had since childhood." Settlements by the Raleigh diocese, which covers 54 counties in Eastern North Carolina, including the Triangle, are part of the troubled effort nationwide by the Catholic Church to address decades of sexual abuse by priests, with many incidents involving children or teens in their parishes. Until 1971, the diocese included the entire state; since then, the Diocese of Charlotte has covered the state's western counties. Long cloaked in secrecy by church officials, the legacy of sexual predators in the Catholic priesthood erupted in scandal five years ago, first in the Archdiocese of Boston, then in jurisdictions across the country. Since then, two reports commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and investigations by news organizations have tallied more than $1 billion paid by church leaders for settlements with victims, legal fees, counseling and courtroom verdicts. On Thursday, a federal mediator announced that the Spokane, Wash., Catholic Diocese has agreed to pay at least $48 million to people molested by priests as a part of a deal to emerge from bankruptcy, The Associated Press reported. Other Catholic jurisdictions are paying a heavier price. Last month, the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., filed a bankruptcy reorganization plan that would pay about $75 million to settle nearly 170 claims of priest sex abuse. The Archdiocese of Boston paid $85 million in 2003 to settle 552 claims. "Dioceses across the country are trying to reach resolution with people who have been abused by clergy," said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, based in Washington, D.C. "There's an overall feeling we need closure. The people who have been victimized need closure, the parishes need closure." Monetary settlements are only part of this effort, Walsh said. Church officials also arrange meetings between victims and their abusers and provide counseling and prayer support. But Marigrace Labella, leader of the Raleigh SNAP chapter, said monetary settlements and other church initiatives aren't enough to take away the pain of people who have been sexually abused by priests. Labella also criticized the Raleigh diocese's decision to contest four potential claims mentioned in the audit. "If they're going to contest it, that's a re-victimization," she said. "There's never enough compensation and never any closure. It's so un-Christ-like." Labella said other Triangle victims of sexual abuse by priests may soon step forward. But Morock, the Raleigh diocese spokesman, said there have been no additional settlements since the end of the fiscal year in June. Last year, the diocese budgeted about $600,000 to cover sexual abuse claims but wound up paying more than $1.19 million in settlements -- money that came from a self-insurance fund maintained by all 98 parishes and mission churches in the diocese. "Because people are hurting, dioceses try to do everything in their power to bring closure and a sense of justice to those who have made the complaint and everyone involved," he said. Staff writer Jim Nesbitt can be reached at (919) 829-8955 or jim.nesbitt@newsobserver.com. News researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.
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