PORTLAND (ME)
Maine Public Radio [Lewiston ME]
August 21, 2026
By Carol Bousquet
Maine’s Catholic Diocese has reached a settlement with several dozen survivors of childhood sexual abuse by Catholic priests from Portland to Van Buren between 1961 and the 2000s.
Forty-two claimants were represented by attorneys from Berman & Simmons law firm. On Thursday, two of the attorneys and their clients held a press conference to discuss the outcome.
“For me, it’s not about the money. It never was,” said Keith Amato, who was just six years old when he says a priest in Van Buren abused him, leaving him with injuries that required surgery.
He said he turned to opioids as a result of the surgical pain and was addicted to drugs for 30 years.
“I just wanted someone to say sorry. I never got that. The church needs to take accountability. They promised me a letter of acknowledgement. I still haven’t gotten that. That was the only thing I really wanted,” Amato said.
Amato’s attorney, Kristin Murray-James, said Bishop Ruggieri released a statement earlier this month that expressed compassion for those who have suffered abuse, but she said the bishop did not apologize or acknowledge institutional responsibility on the part of the diocese.
The amount of Amato’s settlement was not disclosed.
But Michael Bigos, another attorney representing children sexually abused by clergy, said in total the diocese has settled more than 100 claims with a multimillion dollar settlement between last fall and this summer.
Robert Dupuis is among the survivors represented in those cases. He was 12 years old when Father John Curran abused him in Old Town.
After years of alcohol abuse and mental health struggles he said he underwent therapy and shared with his family what happened and that it was healing. Then he went to the Diocese.
“They apologized to me. They believed me, believed my story. They told me if Father John Curran was still a priest they would remove him from the priesthood. I accepted that. I accepted their apology. Today I’m good with that,” Dupuis said.
Dupuis was one of the first to sue the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland for the abuse he suffered. Bigos of Berman & Simmons Law Firm represented him and dozens of others who have come forward to disclose allegations of abuse by clergy in Maine.
Bigos has since started his own law firm and is working with three other firms to represent child sexual abuse victims of priests. He says the settlement is a first step but the process is by no means over.
“This process brought life-changing validation after decades of institutional silence and concealment,” Bigos said. “Survivors still have rights. All of them deserve to heal. We aren’t giving up. We will keep fighting to disclose abuse allegations involving abusive priests, explore legal options, survivor resources, and paths towards accountability.”
Timothy Guidry is also a survivor. His wife, Casey, wrote a statement to remind survivors they are supported. Here is an excerpt:
“You are not alone. You can find peace within yourself in whatever capacity peace means for you.
You are not defined by your worst days, or the ways you learned to cope and survive. You matter, you are worthy of love, and you are worth the fight.”