June 3, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
106 childhood victims of Catholic Church sexual abuse in the Buffalo, NY area have been paid $17.5 million in compensation. The Buffalo, NY diocese has offered a total of 127 settlements with an average award of $158,622 to the sexual abuse victims. The largest settlement offer is $650,000 and due to increasing offers, the diocese’s total cost could end up north of $18 million. The trend is up. In January 2019, Buffalo News reported that the diocese had offered more than $8 million to nearly four dozen people, according to victims and lawyers. That total settlement amount has more than doubled in less than six months.
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Archdiocese of Santa Fe Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan Filed with Court
December 13, 2022 / by Christina Feeney / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has finally filed its bankruptcy reorganization plan four years after filing for Chapter 11 protection . . .
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Albany Abuse Survivor Encourages Transparency from Diocese
September 21, 2022 / by Christina Feeney / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In a lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Albany and former priest Mark Haight, clergy sex abuse survivor . . .
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New Mexico Diocese Announces $121.5 Million Settlement
May 27, 2022 / by Christina Feeney / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, one of the oldest dioceses in the United States, announced it had reached a settlement agreement with survivors of clergy sexual abuse in order to resolve its bankruptcy protection filing.
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Archdiocese of Seattle Reaches Sexual Abuse Settlements Totaling Over $2 Million
April 30, 2021 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In the last year, the Archdiocese of Seattle has agreed to settlements totaling over $2 million with victims who claim they were sexually abused by four members of the Archdiocese’s clergy.
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Archdiocese of Chicago Agrees to Pay $1.5 Million to Settle Sex Abuse Claim
April 9, 2021 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
The Archdiocese of Chicago agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed he was sexually abused as a child by defrocked priest Daniel McCormack back in the early 2000s. This Catholic Church settlement pushes the total to over $11 million paid to survivors who were abused by McCormack. Unfortunately, this is not the first time the Archdiocese of Chicago has had to pay out millions of dollars in order to settle a sexual abuse claim against one of its clergy.
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Colorado Dioceses Pay Out $7.3 Million to Abuse Victims
April 8, 2021 / by Brett Katsma / Default Category
<>The three Roman Catholic Dioceses in Colorado paid out a total $7.3 million in sexual abuse settlements to over 70 people who were sexually abused as children by clergy. The payments came as part of the Colorado priest abuse reparations program. The Catholic Church settlements cover claims that went back decades and marked the end of a 22-month investigation by Colorado Attorney General, Phil Weiser. <>
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Diocese of Santa Fe Nearing Bankruptcy Reorganization Settlement
March 31, 2021 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In 2018, Archbishop of Santa Fe John C. Wester announced that the Archdiocese would seek bankruptcy protection amidst the growing number of sexual abuse lawsuits. Nearly 3 years later, the committee set up to represent the survivors, along with the Archdiocese, have reached a confidential settlement.
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Oakland Diocese Reaches Settlement with Sexual Abuse Victim
March 2, 2021 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In December of 2020, the Diocese of Oakland announced it reached a $3.5 million dollar priest sex abuse settlement with a former seminarian who asserted Father Michael Van Dinh raped him in 2017 at St. Michaels Parish in Livermore, CA. The seminarian did not wish to be identified and will be referred to here as ‘John Doe’
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Augustinians Agree to Settlement of $1.4 Million for Sexual Abuse Claims
February 18, 2021 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
A $1.4 million dollar settlement was reached with the Augustine Order involving sexual abuse allegations against deceased Rev. John J. Gallagher. The settlement compensates 11 survivors, 10 females and 1 male whom Gallagher abused between 1974 and 1978 during his time at St. Mary’s School in Lawrence, MA.
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Billions of Dollars Hidden by Catholic Church
July 27, 2020 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
Not only has the Catholic Church been forced to deal with a very public child sex abuse problem, but their past sins are now manifesting into growing financial concerns as the Church struggles to provide restitution to those it wronged.
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87 People Claim Sexual Abuse by Colorado Diocese Priests
June 30, 2020 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In October of 2019 an Independent Compensation Program (ICP) in Colorado was finalized allowing those sexually abused as minors by clergy in the Dioceses of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo the ability to file claims. The unveiling of the program coincided with the Attorney General of Colorado releasing the names 43 priests accused of sexual abuse within the Catholic Dioceses of Colorado.
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Priest Abuse Case Against Archdiocese of Los Angeles Settled for $1.9 million
June 24, 2020 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
Catholic priest Lawrence Lovell, or ‘Father Larry”, was at the center of a priest sex abuse case filed against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Claretian Missionaries which resulted in a $1.9 million dollar settlement. The victim, Richard Barrios, said the sexual abuse occurred from 1982-1984 when he was an altar boy at San Gabriel Mission Church.
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Archdiocese of Chicago Settles Clergy Sex Abuse Claim for $8 million
June 3, 2020 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In an out of court settlement, the Archdiocese of Chicago agreed to pay $8 million to settle a claim alleging sexual abuse of minor. The settlement stemmed from allegations of sexual abuse in the 1990’s between Rev. John Calicott and an undisclosed victim. At the survivor’s request, his identity was not made public. The accused priest of the Holy Angels Church, Rev. John Calicott, denied the allegations and sought the name of his accuser. His request was denied.
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Arizona Law Extends Deadline for Filing Sexual Abuse Cases
May 5, 2020 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
An Arizona state law opening a window for those whose sexual abuse claims may have been time barred has been extended to the end of this year. Two victims who claim they were abused by Catholic priests over 40 years ago used this law to file lawsuits against their church and the Diocese of Phoenix.
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Harrisburg Catholic Diocese Attempts to Reduce Sex Abuse Lawsuit Payouts with Bankruptcy Filing
March 10, 2020 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
The Harrisburg Catholic Diocese has recently declared bankruptcy as a result of ongoing and mounting Catholic Church sexual abuse claims. The diocese has already paid out nearly $13 million to 111 victims of childhood sexual abuse and church officials believe there may be more than 200 additional victims who could seek compensation through the bankruptcy proceedings.
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California Catholic Church Settlement Fund Created
November 15, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
Six California Catholic Diocese including: Diocese of Fresno, Diocese of Orange, Diocese of Sacramento, Diocese of San Bernardino, Diocese of San Diego, and Los Angeles Archdiocese have recently unveiled a new sexual abuse settlement program for victims of childhood priest molestation in the Catholic Church. Details of the California Catholic Church Settlement fund allow for victims to file a claim without having to directly sue the Catholic Church in court but the deadline is and provide a deadline of January 31, 2020. Typically to file a lawsuit victims would be governed by California’s Statute of limitation laws.
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Catholic Church Offers Cash to Settle Abuse Claims – With a Catch
August 2, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
In an effort to cut the total number and size of payouts made by the Catholic Church to its sexual abuse victims, and to hide key documents from the public, the Diocese of Scranton, PA and other dioceses in the US are offering child sexual abuse victims’ closed-door settlements. These settlement programs are run by third-party administrators outside of the church and offer ‘swift’ resolutions opposed to trials.
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Buffalo Diocese pays $17.5M to 106 clergy sex abuse victims
June 3, 2019 / by Brett Katsma / Catholic Church Sexual Abuse
106 childhood victims of Catholic Church sexual abuse in the Buffalo, NY area have been paid $17.5 million in compensation. The Buffalo, NY diocese has offered a total of 127 settlements with an average award of $158,622 to the sexual abuse victims. The largest settlement offer is $650,000 and due to increasing offers, the diocese’s total cost could end up north of $18 million. The trend is up. In January 2019, Buffalo News reported that the diocese had offered more than $8 million to nearly four dozen people, according to victims and lawyers. That total settlement amount has more than doubled in less than six months.
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