(KTLA) – A landmark settlement has been reached with the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to settle more than 1,300 claims of childhood sexual abuse and assault.
The agreement calls for the church to pay $880 million to settle 1,354 childhood sexual abuse claims filed against the Archdiocese, according to a news release from attorneys representing the plaintiffs.
The massive settlement, some of which was made possible by the enactment of California Assembly Bill 218 that provided a three-year window to revive civil claims of past sexual abuse of minors, is the largest single child sex abuse settlement with the Catholic archdiocese.
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez shared an open letter to the members of the archdiocese, informing them of the settlement and apologizing for the actions of past clergy members.
“I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart,” Gomez wrote, in part. “My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.”
The Archdiocese of L.A. previously settled some 500 claims of sexual abuse of minors for $660 million in 2007.
More than 3,000 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children have been filed in California against Catholic churches as a result of AB 218, attorneys said in the release.
The dioceses of Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego have all filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of these suits.
“The massive amount of this settlement reflects the amount of grievous harm done to vulnerable children and the decades of neglect, complicity and cover-up by the Archdiocese which allowed known serial predators to inflict this harm,” said Morgan A. Stewart, an attorney for the victims. “I encourage other religious institutions within the Catholic Church to meet their responsibilities and take accountability.”
