BishopAccountability.org
	Norwich Diocese Clarifies Sexual Abuse Settlement Funding By Joe Wojtas The Day [Norwich CT] June 25, 2007 http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=27171484-851a-4670-b45b-bd5faa5df04e The Diocese of Norwich has further explained the way it funds its share of settlements with victims of sexual abuse by priests, stressing that none of the money comes from the weekly collections in diocesan churches. Instead, officials said last week that the more than $1 million paid out by the diocese for portions of settlements not covered by its insurance policy comes from a savings account the diocese has been amassing since its founding in 1953. Funds in this "insurance reserve account" also include gifts from people who have not placed any restrictions on how their money can be spent. William J. Russell, the diocesan finance officer, said the payments made to victims from the fund have come from investment earnings by the diocese and not from the principal. He declined to say how much is in the account and could not say where all the money in the account has come from as it has accumulated over the past 54 years. Some of it, he said, was the result of investments made by the diocese. The diocese's insurance company has paid an additional $3.4 million to the victims. In interviews for a May 13 story in The Day that explored how former Bishop of Norwich Daniel P. Reilly handled the sexual abuse lawsuits now being settled, diocesan attorney Joseph Sweeney explained that the $1 million in payments from the diocese came from annual insurance payments made by each parish in the diocese. Sweeney explained that those payments, like any other bill paid by each parish, were funded by the weekly donations from parishioners. He said part of the payments went to pay the annual premiums and the rest went into an account to fund payments not covered by insurance. Diocesan officials attribute the misunderstanding to insufficient information given to Sweeney. Because the diocese is self-insured, Russell said the churches do make the payments described by Sweeney, but they cover premiums and deductibles for items such as vandalism, accidents and property damage from storms, but not sexual abuse settlements. The sexual abuse settlements come out of the insurance reserve fund, diocesan officials said. Since The Day's story was published, Russell and diocesan spokesman Michael Strammiello said they have heard from Catholics who had concerns about the funding. They said the diocese wants to clear up any misconceptions about how the payments to victims are funded. "We've been fortunate when these cases came up that we could pay them without assessing any of the parishes," Russell said. "Because of the way we have managed money over the years we've been able to weather these and other issues and remain fiscally sound. We've also had a lower number of cases compared to other dioceses." Across the country some dioceses have been forced to sell off assets such as real estate to help fund millions of dollars in payments to victims. Most of the $4.4 million paid to victims in the Norwich diocese has been paid out over the past year. Three more lawsuits are pending. Russell also stressed that according to state and federal law, the millions of dollars donated each year to organizations such as the Annual Bishop's Appeal, Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services must be used only for those purposes and cannot be used to settle abuse cases. He said that restriction also applies when the region's Catholics contribute to collections in their church for purposes such as supporting Catholic University, missionary work and retired priests. Russell said people who donate unrestricted money to the diocese that ends up in the fund that pays for sexual abuse settlements are not told how their money was spent. "It's unrestricted. There's no obligation (to do that). The money usually comes from someone who had died, so there's no one to tell," he said. Contact: Joe Wojtas j.wojtas@theday.com
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