New York Archdiocese to ascertain $300 million fund for sexual abuse victims | EUROtoday

On Monday, the Archdiocese of New York introduced plans to ascertain a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who’ve filed lawsuits in opposition to the church.

In an announcement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan mentioned the fund can be financed by means of finances cuts and the sale of property, together with the completion of the sale of the archdiocese’s former Manhattan headquarters. The purpose, he mentioned, is for the fund to be “set aside to provide compensation to survivors of sexual abuse.”

The archdiocese has additionally appointed retired Judge Daniel J. Buckley as a mediator to facilitate settlements with victims. Buckley beforehand performed an identical position in negotiations between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and greater than 1,000 claimants there.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese mentioned church officers hope the fund would cowl settlements for many, if not all of the roughly 1,300 excellent claims in opposition to the archdiocese.

The announcement got here as a federal choose on Monday authorized a settlement for the New Orleans Archdiocese to pay $230 million to tons of of victims of clergy sexual abuse. The New Orleans Archdiocese filed for chapter in 2020 to keep away from dealing with every of the abuse claims individually.