Report: Catholic Church Has Paid Out Billions in Clergy Abuse Settlements

A report by NPR reveals that the Catholic church has paid out billions in clergy abuse settlements over the years:

Clergy sex abuse of children has rocked the Catholic Church not only in terms of trust and reputation, but also financially, to the tune of more than $3 billion, according to National Public Radio.

The multibillion-dollar expense has gone to settlements in response to lawsuits filed by people abused by clergy, reports NPR. Nearly 20 Catholic dioceses and religious orders have filed for bankruptcy because of the scandals.

An attorney whose firm represented abuse victims said that the money the church has paid because of the crisis is part of justice for those who suffered, though it hardly compensates for all the damage done.

“I don’t like the word healing,” said attorney James Stang to NPR, “because it’s too much of an individual process; but at the end of the day, that accountability is demonstrated by the payment of money.”

The lawsuits have been filed primarily against dioceses and religious orders, which have the kind of auspices over priests that a single parish does not.

The Catholic Church assets involved in settlements include cash, stocks, and land.

Of course the billions of dollars in settlement dwarfs the agony inflicted on innocent children by demons in the church:

The “real number” of abused children might be in the thousands since some secret church records were lost, and victims were afraid to come forward, the grand jury said.

“Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing. They hid it all,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said at a news conference in Harrisburg.

The report put the number of abusive clergy at more than 300. In nearly all of the cases, the statute of limitations has run out, meaning that criminal charges cannot be filed. More than 100 of the priests are dead, and many others are retired or have been dismissed from the priesthood or put on leave.

“We are sick over all the crimes that will go unpunished and uncompensated,” the grand jury said.

Authorities evaluated each suspect and were able to charge just two, including a priest who has since pleaded guilty. Shapiro said the investigation is ongoing.

Church officials “routinely and purposefully described the abuse as horseplay and wrestling” and simply “inappropriate conduct,” Shapiro said.

“It was none of those things. It was child sexual abuse, including rape,” he said.

This is vile, despicable in sickening.

We hope that the priests involved burn in Hell.

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