Greensburg Diocese Pays $4.4m in Abuse Compensation

By Peter Smith
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
October 17, 2019

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/faith-religion/2019/10/17/Greensburg-Catholic-diocese-sexual-abuse-compensation-fund/stories/201910170168

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg has paid out nearly $4.4 million to 57 victims of sexual abuse by its clergy and seminarians through an out-of-court compensation program, it announced Thursday.

Most Pennsylvania dioceses set up compensation funds in the wake of a 2018 grand jury report detailing a 70-year history of allegations of sexual abuse by priests and coverup by bishops.

Most of the report dealt with abuses that happened decades ago, but amid a push for legislation to create a window in the Pennsylvania statute of limitations allowing for lawsuits over long-ago abuse, most of the state’s dioceses set up compensation programs to reach settlements with victims.

The Greensburg diocese said it paid $4,350,000. That averages out to about $76,000 each for the 57 claimants, although such programs typically vary compensation depending on factors such as the severity and frequency of abuse and the age of the victim.