Lawyer for Seven Victims to Identify New York Priests Who Abused Them As Children
By Stephen Rex Brown
An attorney for church sex abuse survivors will name and shame priests from the Archdiocese of New York, who allegedly molested his clients when they were kids, on Thursday. The seven men each received settlements between $150,000 and $350,000 through a compensation program founded by Timothy Cardinal Dolan. “It is some measure of justice,” said the victims’ attorney, Mike Reck. “They’ve been handled professionally in the program. They’re treated with respect.” Six priests abused his clients, according to Reck. Some of the clergymen are well known, Reck said; others have not been publicly identified. He will share details of the cases, some of which he said involve “the most horrific abuse you can imagine” during a press conference at the Hotel Pennsylvania. The seven victims — whose identities will remain secret — were all part of Phase I of the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program created by Dolan. That phase was open only to people who previously documented allegations of abuse to the Archdiocese. By accepting the settlements, they agreed they’d never pursue their cases in court. Phase II of the program, which is open to anyone who has not previously reported allegations to the Archdiocese, is underway with a July 31 deadline. Only people who say they were abused by a priest or deacon in the Archdiocese of New York are eligible. “The archdiocese is committed to assisting those individuals who may have suffered abuse to find healing, and we believe that the (program) has been a major step in this process,” said Joe Zwilling, spokesman for the Archdiocese.
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