Pa. Catholic Churches Offer Fund for Victims of Priest Sex Abuse, but There's a Catch

By Candy Woodall
York Daily Record
November 8, 2018

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018/11/08/pa-priest-abuse-catholic-dioceses-start-fund-pay-victims/1932383002/

People who were sexually abused by priests as children have a new avenue for justice in settlement funds being set up by Roman Catholic Dioceses in Pennsylvania, but taking the money now means they can never sue the church in court.

The Survivors’ Compensation Program will begin providing financial resources and other assistance to abuse survivors in January, according to Harrisburg diocese spokesman Mike Barley.

It's unclear how much money will be in the fund or how many people will be helped.

Information for how to apply for funds will be shared by the lawyers overseeing the fund, Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros. Feinberg previously administered a victims' fund for the Archdiocese of New York, the 9/11 Victim Compensation fund and others.

The Archdiocese of New York paid about $40 million to 189 victims of clergy sex abuse victims, according to an Associated Press report in December 2017.

Mitchell Garabedian, a victims attorney at the center of the Boston priest abuse scandal in 2002, said settlements vary. He represents about 100 victims in Pennsylvania.

Victims of priest abuse would sign away right to sue

One thing is clear: if priest abuse victims accept money from the Harrisburg diocese, they cannot sue them in court.

"If survivors participate in the program and receive compensation, they will sign a settlement agreement. They would then forgo any future rights to bring a lawsuit against the Church," Barley said.

Also, if a survivor received a previous settlement, they would not be eligible to receive additional compensation.

"It is important to remember that survivors currently do not have the right to bring a lawsuit," Barley added.

If state lawmakers pass the so-called "window to justice" legislation that would pave the way for lawsuits, the compensation program would most likely be terminated, he said.

This fund is not what the grand jury recommended or what all victims preferred, but it's an important start, according to Mark Rozzi, a Democratic state House representative from Berks County and an abuse survivor.

"This is at least a step in the right direction to get help now. I'm appreciative of the diocese finally setting up the fund. Something is better than nothing and it does show the diocese is willing to accept some accountability," said Rozzi, who has been one of the church's most outspoken critics.

Some people want to take their abuse claims to a jury trial. But some are in their 60s, 70s and 80s and don't want to go through the court system, he said.

"Some of them can't even make it to a court battle. Some might kill themselves if they wait years and years for justice," Rozzi said. "I feel like we need the fund and the window."

State representative Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) speaks to media about the findings of the grand jury's report means to him after the press conference, Tuesday, August 14, 2018. Attorney General Josh Shapiro outlined the findings of the grand jury investigation into six catholic diocese in Pennsylvania. The grand jury's report detailed child sexual abuse and coverup by more than 300 clergy. (Photo: Ty Lohr, York Daily Record)

His bill in September passed the House and would give victims of child sexual abuse a two-year window to sue abusers and institutions regardless of the time limits imposed by state law.

A Senate bill, which excluded institutions from being sued, was not put up for a vote before the legislative session ended last month.

Child sex abuse survivors, who are now adults, currently have no legal recourse for crimes that occurred before their 18th birthdays. A Pennsylvania grand jury report in August exposed hundreds of predator priests and thousands of victims in cases dating back as far as the 1930s.

That grand jury recommended a "civil window" law that would let older victims sue the diocese for protecting the predator priests who ruined their lives.

"We saw these victims; they are marked for life. Many of them wind up addicted, or impaired, or dead before their time," the grand jury report said.

Pa. lawmakers might still consider sex abuse legislation

Hope is not lost for these people, Rozzi said.

He has been working with staff for Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, a Republican from Jefferson County, to find compromise on a bill, even though lawmakers aren't due back until January.

"I don't think it's dead until the end of year. We're trying to find an agreement Joe can live with," Rozzi said.

And that might happen before the end of the year, he said.

Some victims and their advocates are skeptical.

"Obviously, the settlement programs are now being set up by the Catholic Church in an attempt to persuade the legislature to not pass statute of limitations amendments," Garabedian said.

Michael McDonnell, a SNAP leader in Philadelphia, said it wasn't lost on him that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced its victims compensation fund the day after the election.

Pennsylvania bishops announced a few months ago that they wanted to establish the fund.

McDonnell said he would never fault a survivor for taking part of a compensation fund, but sees it a band-aid instead of a solution.

"The true solution is to open up a two-year window that identifies abusers publicly and the institutions that enabled the cover-up. The fund is like admitting one thing to cover up a thousand," he said.

His opinion is similar to Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who issued a statement Thursday:

“It’s now clear that the Dioceses acknowledge the Grand Jury accurately unearthed horrific and extensive abuse and cover up and, as a result, victims deserve compensation no matter when their abuse happened. However, the Grand Jury recommended that victims deserve their day in court – not that the church should be the arbiter of its own punishment. These undefined compensation funds do not give a pass to lawmakers – the Legislature should return to Harrisburg, do their jobs and pass the Grand Jury’s four reforms.”

But the money that could become available soon through the victims' fund could be a lifeboat to some survivors, according to Shaun Dougherty, a priest abuse survivor.

Why some sex abuse victims want the Catholic church fund

It could help improve their quality of life, he said.

Many victims have trouble maintaining a job and are desperate for help, Dougherty said.

But settlements will shield dioceses from the discovery process, which is needed to expose how the systemic abuse happened, why it happened and who helped, he said.

“It’s never been about the money,” Dougherty said. “It’s about figuring out how this happened to us, why, and who helped.”

Pennsylvania could be following New York's path. The Archdiocese of New York paid settlements to victims and now, a few years later, the Child Victims Act looks like it will pass in 2019. If that happens, child sex abuse victims will be able to file lawsuits against the church.

But justice is defined differently by each victim, and lawsuits are unpredictable because you never know what a jury will decide, Garabedian said.

"Clergy sex abuse victims should take whichever helps him or her try to heal, whether it’s a fund or waiting for a statute to change. It’s a personal decision by each and every clergy sex abuse victim," he said. "Money is validation, but there's no victim I've met who wouldn't give the money back to not be abused."

Staff writer Sam Ruland contributed to this report.