CBS 3
July 3, 2008
http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/22841294.html
[with video]
After years of waiting, 61 victims of sexual abuse by priests from the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese will soon receive their due restitution.
The diocese has finally made a multi-million dollar settlement with five insurance carriers to settle claims for any victim who has already notified the diocese of a claim.
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John Egan, Counsel of the Diocese of Springfield says, "These cases that we're now talking about go back as far as 1943."
The monetary terms of the settlement call for a payment from the insurers to the diocese of $8.5 Million. That payment includes $3.5 Million. That money will be used to pay back the diocese for half of the $7 million it paid in 2004 to settle sexual abuse claims.
Diocese Spokesman Mark Dupont says, "This is a small return in what we're putting out and even in saying that I would have to say that most of this money has already been spent in other ways and we may continue to have some liabilities that may come to us in the future that we need to be prepared for."
Dupont adds that $5 million will go to abuse victims, while the remaining $3.5 million will be allocated elsewhere.
Dupont says, "We will be walking with these victims, those who choose to walk with us for many years to come with counseling services."
All victims will remain eligible to participate in continuing counseling and assistance programs at the diocese
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