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	San Diego Catholic Church Reaches $198 Million Sexual Abuse Settlement By Jessica Pupovac AHN September 7, 2007 http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008446347 San Diego, CA (AHN) - The Roman Catholic Dioceses of San Diego and San Bernardino announced a settlement Friday with 144 sexual abuse victims for a total of $198.1 million. It is the second-largest legal settlement made by a diocese surrounding sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy since such scandals began erupting in the Catholic Church in 2002. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles it agreed last July to a settlement on 508 cases of sexual abuse for a total of $660 million. The cases in the San Diego settlement go as far back as 1938 to 1993, with the majority occurring in the 1960s and 70s. Friday's agreement ends more than four years of negotiations in state and federal courts. "Hopefully, the settlement... will serve to begin a healing process, especially for the victims of abuse, but also for the Church," San Diego Bishop Robert H. Brown said in a statement Friday. The Diocese of San Diego, with nearly 1 million Catholics and holdings throughout San Diego County, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the wake of the sexual abuse claims. Sexual abuse cases involving Roman Catholic priests have cost the U.S. church over $2.3 billion since 1950, according to the AP.
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