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Alleged abuse victim Patrick McSorley (L) faces the media as his lawyer Mitchell Garabedian (R) looks on in Boston, March 12, 2002. |
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March 12 |
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BOSTON (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston will pay between $15 million and $30 million to scores of people to settle claims that a priest sexually abused them when they were children, the victims' lawyer said on Tuesday. |
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While the settlement closes the book on most civil suits pending against defrocked priest John Geoghan, the diocese faces new claims by as many as 200 plaintiffs who have come forward since January and accused Geoghan and other Boston-area priests of sexually abusing them. |
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"This isn't happy money, this is blood money," said Mitchell Garabedian, who represented the 86 plaintiffs covered in Tuesday's settlement. |
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Garabedian said he still represents plaintiffs in 27 suits against the Boston Archdiocese and expected more suits to surface. |
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"This obviously will not put the issue involving the archdiocese and child abuse and sex abuse by priests to an end," he said. "It's just the beginning. The investigations have to continue and sex abuse by priests must be uncovered." |
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In a statement, Boston Cardinal Bernard Law said the settlement was a positive development for all concerned. |
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"This settlement is an important step in reaching closure for these victims who have long endured the damage done to them by John Geoghan," the statement said. |
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Since the accusations against Geoghan first came to light, dioceses in California, Maine, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania have suspended priests over allegations they molested children. In Palm Beach, Florida, Bishop Anthony O'Connell resigned last week after admitting he had had inappropriate contact with a teenager 27 years ago. |
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GEOGHAN ALREADY IN PRISON |
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Geoghan is already serving a nine-to-10 year prison sentence for fondling a child and faces at least one more criminal trial stemming from allegations by about 130 people that he molested them during his more than 30 years as a priest. A judge last week threw out two charges of child rape against Geoghan. |
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The scandal has severely hurt the credibility of Law, the senior U.S. prelate, who along with other church leaders knew about Geoghan's history of sexually abusing children while they shuttled him from parish to parish in the 1980s and 1990s. |
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Law said he hoped the settlement could help restore confidence in the diocese's hierarchy. |
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"Today is a step in the right direction to restore the trust and confidence that has been damaged and provide the necessary support to bring about unity not division," his statement said. |
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In the aftermath of the revelations about Geoghan, the Boston diocese has handed over to police the names of more than 80 priests accused of abuse over the last 50 years. |
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In the agreement, each plaintiff was assigned a range of damages depending on the seriousness of the accusation. The final amount paid to each victim will be negotiated in a two-hour meeting with arbitrators, Garabedian said. |
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Garabedian was flanked by four of the plaintiffs, who said they were relieved the deal was struck, but also still struggling with the effects of the abuse. |
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