SYRACUSE (NY)
Post Standard
May 1, 2019
By Julie McMahon
The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has paid nearly $11 million to settle claims with 79 sex abuse victims, according to a report released today.
The Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program was administered by New York City lawyers Camille Biros and Kenneth Feinberg, who have handled victims’ funds after tragedies including 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing.
Bishop Robert Cunningham announced the program in February 2018. It was initially expected to conclude in the fall, but officials said some victims took additional time to decide whether to accept offers by the IRCP.
A total of 88 people applied to the program for compensation. Program administrators made offers to 85 claimants, and 79 accepted the offers. Victims who took the offers signed releases that prohibit them from filing lawsuits.
Just four claimants did not respond to their offers, and two victims declined compensation altogether. That includes Kevin Braney, who recently filed a lawsuit against the diocese. Braney and others were only able to sue in New York state after the Legislature passed the Child Victims Act in January, expanding the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases.
Church officials wrote in a report that the entire program cost about $12.5 million. About $1.5 million was for administrative costs, according to the report. Compensation cost $10,922,500.
In December, the diocese named 57 priests with credible claims of child sex abuse against them.
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