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  Settlement of Priest Abuse Lawsuits at a Glance

Associated Press, carried in WTHI
August 12, 2008

http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8831004&nav=menu593_2

Chicago's Catholic archdiocese agreed to pay more than $12.6 million to settle 14 lawsuits filed by victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests. Here are highlights of the settlement:

CARDINAL'S APOLOGY: Cardinal Francis George, spiritual leader of Chicago's big Catholic archdiocese apologized to the victims. "My hope is that these settlements will help the survivors and their families heal and move forward," he said.

TORTURED HISTORY: Under the settlement, a transcript of an extraordinary 307-page deposition was made public. In the document, the first such deposition to be made public as part of a settlement, according to attorneys, the cardinal answers tough questions about the tortured history of the scandal and how the church responded to it.

SCOPE OF THE SETTLEMENT: The agreements settle 14 cases involving 10 different priests as well as two more cases involving the Rev. Daniel McCormack, who last year pleaded guilty to abusing five youngsters and is now serving a prison sentence.

WHERE THE ISSUE STANDS: With these settlements, the archdiocese has agreed to pay $65 million over three decades to settle some 250 cases with perhaps two dozen cases still under mediation.

 
 

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