San Francisco archdiocese announces US$395m sexual abuse settlement

SAN FRANCISCO, June 30 — The San Francisco archdiocese announced a US$395 million (RM1.6 billion) settlement yesterday with more than 500 people who say clergy in the California jurisdiction sexually abused them, in many cases as minors.

Many of the cases go back decades and the statute of limitations had expired, but California passed a law giving complainants an extra three-year window from early 2020 to the end of 2022 to seek charges.

The settlement must still be approved by an association of abuse victims and a judge.

The archdiocese also agreed to devise a 14-point reform plan designed in part to protect children from sexual abuse by clergy.

The settlement marked the latest case of the Catholic Church making amends around the world in recent decades for sexual abuse of minors by its clergy.

Under the deal announced yesterday, the archdiocese in the northern California city will be required to turn over internal church records to an independent consultant for a report on abuses that were committed.

It will be published on the archdiocese website, said Jeff Anderson, a lawyer for many of the plaintiffs.

“We believe this proposal provides a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have borne the weight of this abuse for a lifetime,” Salvatore Cordileone, the archbishop of San Francisco, said in a statement.

“We accept full responsibility for what happened, and I sincerely apologize to all those who have been harmed,” he added.

Margie O’Driscoll, one of the complainants, said she was sexually abused in a Catholic high school more than 50 years ago.

“I, like every survivor, have carried this pain and shame along like a ball and chain for a very, very long time,” she said at a press conference.

“I think today shame is going to change sides,” she added.

Under other points of the agreement, a partial list of clergy who committed abuses will be published and a sexual abuse hotline will be created to flag future abuses. — AFP