The bishop of Maine says the Catholic diocese has arrived at “financial resolutions” with a number of clergy sexual-abuse victims.“
Even though pending cases that were decades old no longer had legal standing based on the ruling, the diocese recognizes that the harm caused by sexual abuse is not erased with time and still desired to respond with compassion,” Bishop James Ruggieri said in a statement.
Ruggieri said the payments are *intended to acknowledge, in a tangible way, consistent with our resources and obligations, the seriousness of what has been reported and the lasting impact of abuse.”
Paul Kendrick of Freeport, a spokesman for clergy sexual-abuse victims, called the bishop’s announcement “a public relations ploy designed to protect the identities of priest abusers, keep secret evidence of the church’s failure to protect children and low ball financial compensation for the lifelong harms and injuries inflicted upon victims.”
The Portland-based diocese has faced numerous civil lawsuits and allegations regarding clergy child sexual abuse spanning from the 1950s through the 1980s, though recent state supreme court rulings have significantly impacted ongoing litigation.
Ruggieri argued that even though the church may be legally immune based on a court ruling from last year, he decided an obligation to make financial offers.
Lawsuits against the diocese have claimed that church leaders were aware of rampant abuse by clergy members, failed to report or stop it, and actively concealed the actions from families and law enforcement.
