Philadelphia Archdiocese to Set Aside $25m for Abuse Victims

By Mark Scolforo
The Tribune
November 20, 2018

http://www.tribtown.com/2018/11/20/us-clergy-abuse-compensation-fund-3/

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Tuesday it is putting aside $25 million to start paying claims to people who say its clergy sexually abused them as children.

The archdiocese said it expects to need more money than it has on hand, so it will have to borrow and liquidate assets. A spokesman calls initial funding of $25 million to $30 million, from existing liquid assets, “a floor and not a ceiling.”

The archdiocese announced last week it was beginning a claims process and had mailed out a few hundred informational packets to people who had previously reported credible abuse claims.

Most of the state’s dioceses are setting up compensation funds.

A proposal to retroactively allow child sexual abuse lawsuits that are otherwise too old to pursue passed the state House by a wide margin but was blocked by state Senate Republicans.