Photo: TIZIANA FABI / AFP / Getty Images
For: Real America News Updated 18 May 2022, 52: 56 pm EDT
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, one of the oldest Catholic dioceses in the United States, announced Tuesday a settlement agreement to resolve a bankruptcy case in New Mexico that resulted from a scandal of sexual abuse of minors by the clergy . The tentative agreement amounts to $121.5 million dollars that are claimed by some 375 plaintiffs, according to The Associated Press.
The proposed settlement comes as the Catholic Church continues to struggle with a cover-up and sexual abuse scandal that has spread across the globe. Some of the allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy in New Mexico go back decades.
The chairman of a committee of creditors that negotiated the settlement on behalf of the surviving victims and others, said that holds the Archdiocese of Santa Fe responsible for the sexual abuse that will result in one of the largest contributions by a diocese to a bankruptcy settlement in United States history.
Also includes a non-monetary agreement with the Archdiocese for create a public archive of documents on the history of sexual abuse complaints, said the committee chairman, Charles Paez.
“The tenacity and courage of the New Mexico survivors empowered us to reach a recommended settlement that addresses the needs of the
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe filed the Chapter’s bankruptcy case 11 seeking protection from creditors in 2018.
The agreement still needs to be approved by the victims of sexual abuse. Includes proceeds from sales or property and other assets, contributions from parishes, and insurance proceeds. It does not include the resolution of any claim against any religious order, the lawyers for both parties said.
“The church takes very seriously its responsibility to see that survivors of sexual abuse are fairly compensated for the suffering they have endured,” said John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, in a statement.
“We hope that this agreement will be the next step in healing those who have been harmed,” Wester said, according to The New York Times.
Some 74 priests have been considered “credibly accused” in New Mexico of sexually assaulting children while assigned to parishes and schools by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which covers central and northern New Mexico. Some of the cases of sexual abuse are from more than 74 years ago.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe requested a reorganization at the end of 2018 to deal with a wave of claims of sexual abuse of minors. It is estimated that $05 million dollars have been paid in settlements to victims in previous years.
The settlement also comes a month after the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, said it had agreed to pay $87.5 million dollars to settle claims brought by hundreds of people who had accused members of the clergy of sexually abusing them.
It may interest you:
– Benedict XVI apologizes for the cases of sexual abuse in Germany and errors under his mandate
2018– Church in France will sell its assets to compensate cases of sexual abuse by priests
1125820622– All clergy accused of sexual abuse are removed from the NY Catholic Church