Archdiocese to pay $25 million to victims

Christian Century, June 28, 2003

In one of the largest out-of-court settlements to abuse victims in the Catholic sex scandal, the Louisville Archdiocese in Kentucky announced that it will pay nearly $25.7 million to people who said they were sexually molested by priests and other employees of the church.

Archbishop Thomas Kelly spoke to victims on June 10 in announcing details of the settlement, saying "no child should ever have had experienced what happened to you," according to the Associated Press. "I apologize again for what we did or failed to do that led to your abuse."

William McMurry, who represented many of the plaintiffs, said that the archdiocese is using more than half of its liquid assets to pay the settlement. The archdiocese recently cut about 12 percent of its work force, slashed its budget by some $2 million and estimated that it will spend more than $1 million on legal, settlement and counseling costs.

In addition to the archdiocese's being flooded with lawsuits for more than a year, hundreds of petitioners have called for Kelly's resignation over his handling of the cases of priests accused of sexual abuse.