NEW YORK
Staten Island Advance
By Susan Lunny Keag | skeag@siadvance.com
on October 06, 2016
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Archdiocese of New York announced on Thursday plans to establish a voluntary Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) that will seek to promote healing and closure to victims-survivors of abuse by priests or deacons of the Archdiocese.
The program, another step in the Archdiocese’s continual effort to respond to the past sexual abuse of minors by clergy, is being implemented by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, and will provide compensation to victims and survivors of abuse.
“While the Church in general, and particularly here in this Archdiocese, has made great strides in dealing vigorously with clergy accused of abuse, and in preventing acts of abuse through out Safe Environment programs, we continue to hear from victim-survivors that more needs to be done to reach out to those who have been harmed in the past,” said Cardinal Dolan, in a statement.
Rev. Monsignor Peter Finn, vicar of Staten Island, supported Cardinal Dolan’s efforts to reach out to all victims. …
Mary Caplan, former director of the New York chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said she was skeptical of Cardinal Dolan’s proposal.
“I’d encourage victims to think long and hard before approaching church officials or their representatives. I’d urge victims to talk with their own attorneys first,” Caplan said.
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