The dioceses of Pennsylvania have paid out $84 million to 564 separate victims of clergy sexual abuse to date.
The Roman Catholic Church has been wading through a backlog of sexual assault allegations as it responds to a grand jury report that detailed extensive sexual abuse of minors throughout the Church. Seven of the eight dioceses in the state have opened victim compensation funds for those who suffered abuse while in the Church.
Victims had until age 30 to come forward with details of the abuse if they wished to take the Church to court, according to state law. Many of the victims receiving payment from the Church are above the age of 30. The average payment for victims has been $148,000, which is much less than the payouts could be if the Church was taken to court.
The Pennsylvania legislature is working to pass a bill that would open a temporary window for victims of any age to come forward with their abuse allegations, but that legislation is still in the works. Those who opt to take funds from the victim compensation pool sign away their ability to bring future legal claims against the Church related to their abuse.
One victim, 45-year-old David Zernhelt, called the compensation a “starting point.”
“It doesn’t make me rich,” Zernhelt told the Associated Press. “It creates a positive starting point for me. I can try to make my life a little bit better and put this behind me.”
Five of the dioceses alone have received more than 1,500 claims of abuse. They granted settlements to 391 victims and threw out 41 claims over a lack of evidence or eligibility. Those dioceses still have to sift through nearly 1,000 cases.
“We try to be consistent with the claims in terms of the nature of the abuse, how long it went on, the age of the child, the effect of the abuse. We consider all that and use our judgment to determine the settlement offer,” said Camille Biros, who operates one of the compensation funds. “We want to make sure everybody is treated as consistently as possible.”
Biros expects that it could take the Church through June before they finish the review process for each case and issue their final settlement offers.
