LA Archbishop: 'I Am Sorry for Every One of These Incidents'

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades, in what an attorney said was the largest single settlement with a Catholic archdiocese over child sex abuse. After the Wednesday announcement of the agreement in principle, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in a statement, "I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart." "My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered," the archbishop added, per the AP. "I believe that we have come to a resolution of these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivor-victims of these past abuses."

Attorneys for more than 1,300 people who allege they suffered horrific abuse at the hands of local Catholic priests reached the settlement after months of negotiations with the archdiocese, the Los Angeles Times reports. The agreement caps a quarter century of litigation against the most populous archdiocese in the US. Attorneys on the Plaintiffs' Liaison Committee said in a joint statement, "While there is no amount of money that can replace what was taken from these 1,353 brave individuals who have suffered in silence for decades, there is justice in accountability." Under the settlement, the plaintiffs will engage in a process that won't involve the archdiocese to allocate the settlement amount among the participants.

The archdiocese has already paid $740 million to victims in various settlements and had pledged to better protect its church members, so this settlement would put the total payout at more than $1.5 billion, the Times notes. "These survivors have suffered for decades in the aftermath of the abuse," attorney Morgan Stewart, who led the negotiations, tells the Times. "Dozens ... have died. They are aging, and many of those with knowledge of the abuse within the church are, too. It was time to get this resolved." The settlement will be funded by archdiocese investments, accumulated reserves, bank financing, and other assets. According to the archdiocese, certain religious orders and others named in the litigation will also cover some of the cost of the settlement, the Times says.

(More Catholic Church sex scandals stories.)