Ky. Archdiocese Settles Suits

Louisville Archdiocese to Pay $25.7 Million in Abuse Cases

By Mike Torralba
Associated Press
June 11, 2003; Page A10

LOUISVILLE, June 10 -- The Archdiocese of Louisville will pay $25.7 million to nearly 250 alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests and other employees of the Roman Catholic Church.

Archbishop Thomas Kelly spoke directly to plaintiffs tonight in announcing details of the settlement, saying that "no child should ever have had experienced what happened to you."

"I promise we are doing everything possible to prevent child abuse in the church," he said. "I apologize again for what we did or failed to do that led to your abuse."

The deal marks one of the largest settlements in the sexual abuse scandal that has roiled the Catholic Church, and follows two similar settlements reached in New Hampshire and Boston in the past year.

William McMurry, who represents many of the plaintiffs, said at a separate news conference that the archdiocese is using more than half its $48 million in liquid assets on the settlement.

"It was hard-fought, it was difficult to achieve monetarily, but it was very, very rewarding," McMurry said.

Attorneys for the archdiocese and the alleged victims began meeting last week to work on the out-of-court settlement, which was reached in five days of talks.

The archdiocese has been inundated with lawsuits over the past 14 months from people who said they were sexually abused as children. The suits, many of them containing decades-old revelations, said the archdiocese knew of the abuse but concealed it and did nothing to stop it.

Plaintiff Doug DeVore said the settlement was a relief. His lawsuit named the Rev. Thomas Creagh, who resigned last year.

"I did a deposition . . . and I had to walk out the first day," said DeVore, 35. "It was too hard to sit there and have to relive all that stuff. I'm glad it's over with."

The archdiocese has cut 34 jobs, or about 12 percent of its workforce, frozen salaries and cut its budget by about $2 million.

Hundreds of people have signed petitions calling for Kelly's resignation for his handling of priests accused of sex abuse.

The Rev. Louis E. Miller, the retired priest at the forefront of the scandal, was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for decades of sexual misconduct against children. He pleaded guilty to more abuse charges Monday.

Two other priests, the Revs. Daniel C. Clark and James Hargadon and a former priest, Bruce Ewing, have pleaded not guilty and await trial.

In September, the Boston Archdiocese agreed to pay $10 million to 86 alleged victims of the Rev. John Geoghan, one of the priests at the center of the scandal. The archdiocese had rejected an earlier settlement, worth up to $30 million, saying it could not afford it.

The Diocese of Manchester, N.H., reached a $6.5 million settlement with 61 alleged victims, settling most of the sexual abuse lawsuits in the state.

Bernard Queenan, who was one of Miller's alleged victims, said he was gratified by the settlement.

"Nobody wanted a long-term thing with 200 trials dragging on for years," he said. "I hope everybody will get some peace now."