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	Victim: Money Concerns LED to Diocese Settlement NECN February 3, 2011 http://www.necn.com/02/03/11/Victim-Money-concerns-led-to-diocese-set/landing_nation.html?&blockID=3&apID=3011f08c400e4b41912a7358ef4c14a8 Concerns about money motivated the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington to reach a settlement with abuse victims in its bankruptcy case, a priest abuse victim who was awarded $30 million in punitive damages in a lawsuit said Thursday. The diocese, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2009, agreed Wednesday to a $77 million settlement with nearly 150 alleged victims of sexual abuse. In a key victory for abuse victims, church officials also agreed to turn over internal church documents detailing how the diocese handled the priest abuse scandal. "The pain will always be with us the rest of our lives, but there is some satisfaction that the documents that will identify who covered up, who moved priests around, who knew, will finally see some daylight after, 40, 50, 60 years," said John Vai of Wilmington. In December, Vai won a punitive damage award of $30 million against former priest Francis DeLuca. He also was awarded $30 million in compensatory damages, including $3 million against St. Elizabeth's parish in Wilmington. Vai said Thursday that he believes the verdict in his case convinced diocese officials they had to avoid other such trials and settle with scores of alleged abuse victims, rather than continue on the road of litigation. "They will part with some of their gold, but I believe their heart is not in it," Vai said. "... The road would have been too detrimental to what they really hold close to their heart, which is their wallet." The diocese released a statement Thursday saying its goals have been "to fairly compensate all survivors of clergy sexual abuse, to honor our obligations to our creditors and lay employees to the best of our ability and to continue the charitable, educational and spiritual works of the Catholic community in Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore." Matthias Conaty, who along with Vai serves as co-chair of the diocese's official committee of unsecured creditors, agreed that financial concerns played a role in the settlement. "I think it is, on a certain level, about the money for the bishop," Conaty said. "He was trying to use bankruptcy to push down our ability to fight in court." The victims, on the other hand, were pushing for "transparency and prevention," Conaty explained. The settlement was reached after lengthy negotiation that included talks Wednesday between Conaty and Bishop Francis Malooly. "I was guardedly optimistic, but I knew it was a matter of time that we were going to win because we had the side of right and good," Conaty told The Associated Press on Thursday. Conaty said his negotiations with Malooly on Wednesday were civil, but that "there was definitely contention over the issues." A key victory for the abuse victims in Wednesday's talks was the diocese's agreement to turn over church documents regarding the sex abuse scandal, Conaty said. Previously, the diocese had proposed a depository kept within its archives that would be available for examination only at certain times, with no copying allowed, Conaty said. "Now, we have control of the black-and-white, gory details that I think are going to shock the conscience of Delawareans, Catholic and non-Catholic, and people all over the world will not be able to minimize or deny what happened," Conaty said. "I think this is going to send a message around the globe that victims and survivors are empowered," he added. "We're highly principled and were going to stand up and speak up any chance we get about exactly what happened to us and who was responsible." The agreement specifies that no alleged victim of abuse will identified by name in the documents unless he or she gives consent, Conaty said. It also spells out the types of documents covered under the agreement, including priest personnel records and the diaries of all of the diocese's deceased bishops. The agreement calls for an arbitrator who will be selected by mutual agreement of the opposing parties to settle disputes over the release of any documents. Conaty said another important step reached in Wednesday's talks was the diocese's agreement to allow child protection officials, as well as abuse victims, to speak annually to the diocese's seminarians about sexual abuse prevention and detection. "Self-policing is what got us into this," Conaty said, adding that its important to verify that the diocese is now protecting children as it claims. Conaty noted that Malooly said some priests might balk at a proposal requiring that they certify in writing every year that they have no knowledge of suspected child abuse that has not been disclosed to law enforcement officials. The final agreement requires such certification every five years, with voluntary certification on an annual basis.
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