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The amount for settlement over clerical sexual abuse will be the largest cash payment by any Catholic diocese in bankruptcy to date in the United States
By La Croix International staff | United States
The Catholic Diocese of Camden in the northeastern U.S. state of New Jersey has agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sexual abuse with some 300 alleged victims under a bankruptcy settlement announced Tuesday.
More than 40 priests and others who served with the Diocese of Camden have been the subject of allegations of childhood sexual abuse. Many of the allegations were not investigated because of New Jersey now outdated statute of limitations for abuse survivors.
According to an Associated Press report, the sexual abuse is alleged to have happened from the 1950s to the 1990s, with majority of the cases concerning the 1960s and 1970s.
"I want to express my sincere apology to all those who have been affected by sexual abuse in our diocese," Bishop Dennis Sullivan said in a statement.
"My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse and I pledge my continuing commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the history of the diocese of Camden, New Jersey, never happens again," he said.
The diocese said the deal calls for the establishment of a trust to compensate survivors of sexual abuse within the Diocese and "will be funded with $87.5 million from the Diocese and related Catholic entities over a four-year period."
The settlement also includes maintaining or enhancing the protocols for the protection of children, which were first implemented by the diocese in 2002.
If a U.S. bankruptcy judge approves the agreement, the $87.5 million amount would be "the largest cash payment by any Catholic diocese in bankruptcy to date" in the country, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits. It exceeds the $84 million paid in 2003 in the Boston clergy abuse scandal.
"This battle was hard-fought and today's settlement was long-overdue – Camden survivors have finally obtained some semblance of justice after suffering for decades," said Jay Mascolo of RAM Law, among the attorneys representing the accusers.
"This moment is a direct result of thousands of survivors courageously coming forward, and the nation-leading reforms that New Jersey passed that made it possible for survivors to finally seek justice. We hope this victory encourages others to seek accountability for the abuse they suffered – it's not too late for many survivors in New Jersey to come forward under New Jersey's new law," Mascolo said.
The diocesan agreement to pay to comes more than two years after New Jersey's new law for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to seek legal compensation.
It now let's child victims sue up until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization that the abuse caused them harm. The earlier statute of limitations was age 20 or two years after first realizing the abuse caused harm.
The Diocese of Camden filed for bankruptcy on October 1, 2020.
Lawyers point out that the bankruptcy does not mean abuse survivors will receive no compensation from the diocese. The bankruptcy simply puts a "pause" on the current lawsuits against the diocese while a bankruptcy judge decides a fair way to use its assets to compensate abuse survivors and others.
The bankruptcy judge will also set a "bar date deadline" for abuse survivors to file claims and may be significantly shorter than the statute of limitations, including the two year "window" under New Jersey's new law for abuse survivors.
If an abuse survivor fails to file a claim by the bar date deadline their claim may be forever "barred" and they may receive no compensation, even if they claim they were not aware of the deadline.
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