JOHNSTOWN (PA)
Tribune Democrat
May 14, 2019
By Dave Sutor
Politics, religion, law and finances were all linked in the process that led to the creation of compensation funds for victims of clergy sexual abuse in seven of Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses.
For years, when priests, parishes and dioceses faced allegations of abuse, the matters were often handled in secret – with victims being required to accept non-disclosure agreements as part of settlements.
But then, in 2018, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General released a grand jury report that provided details about how at least 300 priests allegedly abused thousands of children across six of the commonwealth’s dioceses.
In response, the Philadelphia Archdiocese and dioceses in Pittsburgh, Erie, Scranton, Allentown, Harrisburg and Greensburg opened their own individual compensation funds with the goal of providing financial assistance to victims. Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico, when announcing his diocese’s program earlier this year, said he wants the fund to “provide some measure of justice, closure and validation for the terrible acts that victims endured.”
Harrisburg Bishop Ronald Gainer called his diocese’s fund an acknowledgment that “terrible abuses did occur.”
But some victims advocates have pointed out that the dioceses only started the funds after the coverups were publicly exposed and when legislators began considering changing the state’s statute of limitations to include a two-year window during which victims could file civil claims for assaults that occurred in the past.
“Victims deserve to get compensation, but what is a better scenario is if the statute of limitations gets lifted and there gets to be a window of opportunity for old cases to come forward,” said Judy Jones, a Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests regional leader.
“We mostly think the church officials want to do the compensation thing so that people won’t sue. The reason they don’t want them to sue is not so much about the money. They don’t have trouble spending parishioners’ money. It is they don’t want to go to trial.”
Differences by diocese
Seeking compensation can be both straightforward and nuanced, according to individuals who have dealt with the process.
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