Ethics Newsline®

SAN DIEGO
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego last week reached a $198.1 million agreement to settle lawsuits filed by 144 childhood sexual abuse victims.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the settlement also requires the diocese to release church documents relating to sex abuse by priests. Some of the cases date back 30 to 40 years.

One of the plaintiffs, Michael Bang, told San Francisco television station KPBS that he insisted on the disclosure because he wants to “make sure that this information gets out, that the public understands that this was going on for decades — not just a couple of years, but decades — and they moved these priests around, and they knew it was going on, and they have to take responsibility for this now.”

The Jurist, a publication of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, reports that the current settlement evolved after the diocese sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While 42 pending cases were originally suspended when the bankruptcy application was filed, a federal judge ruled last month that the cases could go to trial, accepting arguments by the plaintiff’s attorneys that allowing the cases to move forward could pressure the diocese to settle the case.

The Agence France-Presse reports that San Diego bishop Richard Brom said he hoped the settlement would bring closure to the victims.

“The Diocese has always been committed to resolving this litigation in a way that fairly compensates these victims of abuse and would still preserve the ongoing ministries and programs of the Church,” Brom said, according to the AFP report.

“We pray that this settlement will bring some closure and healing to the years of suffering experienced by these victims.”