Judge Gives Preliminary Approval to Largest Catholic Church Payout at $120 Million

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, July 06, 2005

The Catholic Church may payout the largest settlement in its history to victims of sexual abuse in the Covington, Kentucky area. On Tuesday, a judge granted preliminatry approval for a $120 million grant between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington and hundreds of victims.

Under the decision by Judgbe Johan W. Potter, $40 million is made immediately avaialbe form diocese assets. The remaining $80 are pending from two insurance companies, which victims are also suing. The ruling also allows church and plaintiff lawyers to right to advertise the settlement and set a Nov. 10 deadline to claim the compensation funds.

Should the plantiffs win, the $120 million will mark the largest settlement made by the Roman Catholic Church in th eaftermath of an explosive clergy sexual abuse scandal that began in 2002. Since then, at least $378 million had been spent on settlements, legal fees, and counseling for victims. Over the past 50 years, the Catholic Church spent more than $1 billion in sexual abuse-related settlements. The county of Orange in California currently holds the high record at agreeing to pay $100 million last year.

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The number of victims in Covington is not yet determine; the judge ordered attorneys to count the exact number of victims.

Each victim will recive awards ranging from $5,000 to $450,000, based on the severity of abuse, according to Associated Press. Some victims will also be eligible to apply for a special funds for extradorinary claims.

The final hearing in the Covington settlement is schedueled for Jan. 9, 2006. The Covington Diocese spans 14 counties and has 89,000 parishioners.