The Archdioceses of Los Angeles has reached an $880 million settlement Wednesday with 1,353 victims of childhood sexual abuse cases.
Survivors came forward after the state of California passed Assembly Bill 218 which opened a three-year window for the revival of civil claims of past sexual abuse involving minors.
“While there is no amount of money that can replace what was taken from these 1,353 brave individuals who have suffered in silence for decades, there is justice in accountability,” the plaintiffs’ liaison counsel wrote. “We are grateful to the brave survivors who came forward to hold those responsible accountable and to protect the children of the future.”
The Archdiocese’s administrative office will fund the settlement using accumulated reserves and investment holdings, bank financing and other Archdiocesan assets, in addition to payments by certain religious orders and others named in the litigation, according to their announcement.
The Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee is coordinating with plaintiffs to approve the proposed settlement. The final implementation of the agreement is dependent on the achievement of certain approval levels.
“The Archdiocese apologizes for the harm that was caused by individuals in the Church that contributed to the pain that survivor-victims have endured,” Kirk Dillman, counsel for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said in a statement almost a year after concluding mediation with the Hon. Daniel J. Buckley (Ret) presiding.
This is the second time the Los Angeles Archdiocese has reached a global settlement of abuse claims. The entity previously addressed 500 claims of sexual assault brought forth in 2003 and entered into an international settlement in 2007.
“Most of the alleged acts of abuse covered in this settlement took place more than fifty years ago, with a number of the cases dating back to the 1940s. Some of these acts are alleged to have been committed by Archdiocesan clergy, some by lay people, and some by religious order priests and clergy from other dioceses who were serving here,” José H. Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles, wrote in an open letter.
He highlighted the years of past abuse the Archdiocese has been accused of covering and shared that survivors are offered pastoral care and financial support to “assist in their healing.”
“No one who has been found to have harmed a minor is serving in ministry at this time. And I promise: we will remain vigilant,” he later added.
