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	Record Catholic Sex-Abuse Settlement Unleashes Anguish by Victims Earthtimes July 16, 2007 http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/83457.html Los Angeles - A Los Angeles judge on Monday approved the record-setting sex-abuse settlement under which the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay 508 sexual abuse victims some 660 million dollars. "This is the right result," Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Haley Fromholz said a day after the settlement was announced. "Settling the cases was the right thing to do and it was done by dint of a number of extremely talented and dedicated people putting in an awful lot of time." Many of the victims were in court to hear the judge's decision, which ends five years of often bitter negotiations between the archdiocese and the victims of abuse by priests. After the court session, victims gathered outside the courthouse in a display of tears and anger over their suffering and the settlement, which they said would never compensate them for their exploitation and hurt. They spoke to reporters in broadcast remarks. "It's been really long and hard, and the pain is still inside of me, it never goes away," wept Esther Miller, her face contorted in anguish. She described how she considered suicide, sitting "in a parking lot all by myself, wanting to just die and go away forever so the pain would stop." Then, she said, she heard a radio broadcast from SNAP, a support group of sex abuse victims of Catholic priests. Another victim, a man, said the religion of his abusers was "worthless" and one church leader involved in the settlement was "as cold as a pimp's heart." Under the agreement, the church will also release the previously confidential personnel files of the priests and other church representatives accused of molesting children over a period of decades. The first of several civil trials to decide lawsuits against the archdiocese had been scheduled to begin Monday. The deal settles all pending abuse litigation against the Los Angeles archdiocese. The settlement averages 1.3 million dollars per case - though the exact amount each individual gets varies according to the severity of the abuse. "Some of the victims have waited more than five decades for a chance at reconciliation and resolution," Raymond Boucher, chief attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Los Angeles Times. "This is a down payment on that debt, long overdue." Cardinal Roger Mahony, head of the most populous archdiocese in the United States, made public comments about the case after giving Sunday mass. He apologized to the victims for the church's handling of past cases. "There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them," he said. Mahoney said that the church will not sell parish property, but other assets including buildings could be sold to raise money to cover the settlement. Some investment money may have to be spent, and the archdiocese could resort to borrowing, too. An attorney representing the church in the case, Michael Hennigan, said that the work of the church would be "impacted" by the huge payout "but not crippled."
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