St. Patrick Cathedral – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Suggested viewing: Video: Cat Stevens’ Path to Islam
By Michael Rubinkam – Associated Press
Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse, a tally that’s sure to grow substantially in the new year as compensation fund administrators work through a backlog of claims, according to an Associated Press review.
Seven of the state’s eight dioceses launched victim compensation funds in the wake of a landmark grand jury report on sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. The funds were open to claims for a limited time this year. They are independently administered, though each diocese set its own rules on eligibility.
To date, the average payout across all seven dioceses has exceeded $148,000—a fraction of what some adult victims of childhood abuse might have expected from a jury had they been permitted to take their claims to court. Under state law, victims of past abuse only have until age 30 to sue.
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Categories: Catholic Church, Catholicism, Catholics, Christianity, The Muslim Times