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	Cost of Settling Abuse Claims, Healing Wounds at $150.8m By Michael Paulson Boston Globe April 20, 2006 http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/04/20/ cost_of_settling_abuse_claims_healing_wounds_at_1508m/ Sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy cost the Archdiocese of Boston $150.8 million through the end of last June, the archdiocese said yesterday in a detailed examination of the financial implications of the abuse crisis. "The substantial financial costs detailed in today's report reflect the staggering scope of the crisis," Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley said in a letter that accompanied the report on sexual abuse settlements, released to fulfill a portion of O'Malley's pledge of financial transparency. The archdiocese said it had paid $127.4 million to settle claims brought by 895 people who said they were harmed by clergy sexual abuse over the years; an additional $8.8 million for support programs such as therapy for victims; and $14.6 million on legal, mediation, arbitration, and borrowing costs associated with paying settlements. Additionally, the archdiocese last month agreed to settle abuse claims with an additional 88 people, for an average of $75,000 each, which would bring the totals to 983 settlements for approximately $157 million. O'Malley, in his letter, cautioned that spending is only one way to view the abuse crisis, but that it is important to help answer questions from parishioners about how the archdiocese has handled its finances. "It is understandable that some may view any effort to discuss the sexual abuse crisis in financial terms as minimizing the severity of the pain and loss caused by clergy sexual abuse," O'Malley said. "We must never forget the profound suffering survivors, their families and the Catholic community have endured as a result of the tragic crimes perpetrated against children." O'Malley was named archbishop of Boston in summer 2003, after the resignation seven months earlier of Cardinal Bernard F. Law, who had been criticized for failing to remove sexually abusive priests from ministry. Boston is the third diocese O'Malley has been asked to take over after the eruption of a local abuse-related crisis; in Palm Beach, Fla., his predecessor was accused of abusing minors, and in Fall River, a serial pedophile, James R. Porter, had been transferred from parish to parish by the diocese. O'Malley made settling claims of victims a top priority when he arrived in Boston, and he has met with hundreds of victims and sent many letters of apology. Yesterday, he apologized again, both at a news conference and in the letter. "The sexual violations of children by priests and the failure of church leaders to properly respond are a source of deep shame for which I apologize and humbly beg your forgiveness," he wrote. "I again pledge to do everything possible to ensure a safe environment for our young people and to provide pastoral and counseling support to survivors and their families. Nothing is more important at this moment in the life of the church in this archdiocese." The report says that the archdiocese has committed to paying for weekly therapy and for related medications for victims, regardless of whether they have sued the archdiocese. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, the archdiocese spent $1.16 million to fund therapy for 299 people, the report said. In the report, the archdiocese said that it has not used money from parish collections, archdiocesan fund-raising, or parish closings to pay abuse-related costs. Instead, the archdiocese said, it has financed settlements and therapy largely through real estate sales, primarily of a portion of the headquarters property in Brighton to Boston College, but also through the sales of 15 other properties. The archdiocese also received $43.4 million from insurance companies. The archdiocese also described two previously undisclosed sources to pay abuse-related costs. According to the report, the archdiocese has collected $2 million in donations for the purpose of providing therapy to abuse victims. And the report also reveals that over the years the archdiocese had designated a portion of its own insurance fund -- the archdiocese is partially self-insured -- for the purpose of settling abuse claims, and that it had spent $20 million from that fund on abuse-related costs. O'Malley pledged to report annually the costs of any sexual abuse settlements and the sources of funds for payment of those settlements. Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.
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