WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR
March 26, 2020
By Tom Gjelten
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/26/822211994/diocese-suspends-abuse-victims-compensation-program-citing-economic-turmoil
Among the people affected by the downturn on Wall Street are some alleged victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
The Diocese of Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania, identified in 2018 by the state attorney general as one of the places where clergy abuse had been especially egregious, has announced that it is suspending the processing of victim claims in response to what it calls the “economic turmoil” brought about by the coronavirus.
In February 2019, diocesan authorities in Erie launched an Independent Survivors’ Reparation Program for the purpose of compensating people whose claims of abuse were substantiated. The diocese said funds for the compensation were to come from a line of credit secured by diocesan investments. Dozens of claims were subsequently filed, and by December 2019 the program was said to have cost the diocese nearly $12 million.
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