NEW YORK
PIX 11
JUNE 22, 2017, BY CHRISTINA REINWALD
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Diocese of Brooklyn has announced it is starting its program to pay victims of sexual abuse by priests and deacons within the Roman Catholic Church.
The Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program is modeled after the Archdiocese of New York’s sexual abuse settlement process that launched in October 2016.
“This Bishop [DiMarzio] is listening to survivors,” Anthony Hughes said in a statement. “People need to know that the Church is moving in the right direction.”
Hughes, now 41, said he was sexually abused by a priest in Brooklyn in the 1980s. He came forward in 2006, but said at the time, the church was “unsupportive.” Now, he said there’s been a “significant shift” in how the church handles these allegations.
Two mediators and an oversight committee “will have total independence” to determine payment to victims, the diocese said.
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