PITTSBURGH (PA)
WPXI-TV
November 20, 2020
By: Rick Earle
The special fund created by the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese to compensate victims of clergy sex abuse closed down in October, but some victims say the fund fell far short of what they expected.
Target 11′s Rick Earle spoke to several victims who said they feel like they’ve become victims again, not at the hands of priest, but the diocese. They believe that some of the settlement offers were “a slap in the face.”
“Quite frankly the program that Pittsburgh ran, of all the programs, was the most poorly funded,” said Ben Andreozzi, an attorney who represents approximately 30 victims from the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese.
Andreozzi said about half of the victims he represents accepted settlements from the diocese. The other half declined the offers.
“We’re not talking about them thumbing their nose at millions of dollars. We’re talking about situations where people who have been raped are offered less than $20,000. I’m not suggesting that $20,000 isn’t a lot of money, but for somebody who has extensive needs for therapy, they lost out on job opportunities, they lost out on their education, the needs far exceed that of what they were offered, ” he said.
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