SCRANTON (PA)
WNEP Channel 16
January 23 , 2019
By Stacy Lange
The Diocese of Scranton has released the details of how they will pay victims of clergy sexual abuse.
This comes after a few dozen former priests were named as child predators in a statewide grand jury report last summer.
Bishop Joseph Bambera announced this victim’s compensation fund last year, and this week, the diocese laid out how it will all work.
The diocese will be providing the money but how much victims receive will be decided by a law firm from Washington D.C.
People who were sexually abused by priests from the Diocese of Scranton can now apply to receive financial compensation from the diocese.
The diocese appointed a law firm based in Washington D.C. to handle the victims’ compensation fund. Lawyers will determine how much money a victim will receive, and they will answer to an independent local committee which includes former Luzerne County District Attorney Robert Gillespie.
“I think, quite frankly, it helps the church only in that it shows the church is now interested in trying to make sure that this never happens again and that the people that were victims are fairly compensated. It’s not about the church. This is about the victims in this point in time,” said Gillespie.
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