NEW YORK
Business Insider
Sonam Sheth
Neal Gumpel, a 57-year-old screenwriter, said he was elated when he heard in October that Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, announced that the church was setting up a fund to compensate sexual-abuse victims. Gumpel said that when he was 16 the Rev. Roy Drake, a Jesuit priest, sexually assaulted him.
The program, called the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP), is intended to “bring a measure of peace and healing to those who have suffered abuse,” Dolan said.
The IRCP has many phases. The first, which spans from October to January, covers only those who had previously filed claims of sexual abuse against the church. The second phase, for which an implementation date has not been announced, will cover new claims filed against clergy members.
“I thought, finally, they’re acknowledging the victims,” Gumpel told Business Insider. “Finally, they’re admitting the pain they’ve caused us, not just by abusing us, but by turning their backs on us when we tried to come forward.”
But then he heard the bad news. Gumpel’s claims would not be covered and he would not receive a public acknowledgement from the church.
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