KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Oct. 17, 2014
KANSAS CITY, MO.
Speaking publicly for the first time since his clergy sex abuse trial against the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., diocese ended prematurely because of a global settlement, Jon David Couzens said he intends to remain a voice for the protection of children.
“My case turned into a cause, and my cause is for all these children, and I’m going to keep moving forward,” he said at a press conference in the shadow of the gold dome of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Kansas City.
Late Tuesday, the diocese agreed to pay $9.95 million to settle 30 historical cases alleging clergy sexual abuse of minors, including the Couzens case — the first case for the diocese to reach the trial stage.
Two days later, several of the claimants in the settlement announced at a press conference outside the chancery offices, a few blocks north of the cathedral, that they had agreed to share the funds with three others whose cases were not formally part of the deal.
Surrounded by more than a dozen family members, friends, and other claimants to the settlement — many of whom attended the trial — Couzens said while the general public may see money as his motivation and that of other victims of clergy sex abuse, “it’s just the reverse.”
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