PHILADELPHIA (PA)
WHYY Radio
October 10, 2019
By Laura Benshoff
Last year’s grand jury report detailing sexual assault allegations against 301 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania raised the question: how would the church respond?
In the months that followed, seven of the eight dioceses in Pennsylvania launched compensation funds, following the model set by dioceses in New York.
These programs, which started winding down at the end of September, offer a lump sum to victims in return for signing away the right to sue the church over their allegations.
Some victims have used the program to put their fight with the church behind them. Others scoffed at the price tag put on their trauma. This is the story of two men who came to different conclusions.
‘What if it didn’t happen this way? Where would I be?’
Growing up in Philadelphia, John Quinn bounced between his family’s home and a half dozen Catholic orphanages around the region.
“I ended up in St. John’s, St. Joe’s, St. Mary’s, St. Francis’, St. Michael’s and a foster home,” said the 67-year-old, rattling off his stops.
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