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New York Archdiocese Offers Compensation Program for Sexual Abuse Victims New York Archdiocese Offers Compensation Program for Sexual Abuse Victims
(about 2 hours later)
The Archdiocese of New York has established an independent compensation commission that will allow victims of sexual abuse by clergy to apply for monetary compensation from the church, even for abuse claims that are decades old, church leaders said Thursday.The Archdiocese of New York has established an independent compensation commission that will allow victims of sexual abuse by clergy to apply for monetary compensation from the church, even for abuse claims that are decades old, church leaders said Thursday.
The commission will be headed by Kenneth Feinberg, who ran the federal Sept. 11 victims fund. It will have independent authority to determine eligibility for the awards and their amounts, church officials said. The archdiocese said it would borrow the money to pay for the awards, which could easily run into the millions. The commission will be headed by Kenneth R. Feinberg, who ran the federal Sept. 11 victims fund. It will have independent authority to determine eligibility for the awards and their amounts, church officials said. The archdiocese said it would borrow the money to pay for the awards, which could easily run into the millions.
Some 200 sexual abuse victims have come forward to the archdiocese over the years, in cases involving some 40 priests. To date, only about 30 of them have received compensation, church leaders said.Some 200 sexual abuse victims have come forward to the archdiocese over the years, in cases involving some 40 priests. To date, only about 30 of them have received compensation, church leaders said.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said he was inspired by Pope Francis in forming the commission and hoped it would become a model for other archdioceses. “I wish I would have done this quite a while ago,” he said in an interview. “I just finally thought, ‘Darn it, let’s do it. I’m tired of putting it off.’” Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said he was inspired by Pope Francis in forming the commission and hoped it would become a model for other dioceses. “I wish I would have done this quite a while ago,” he said in an interview. “I just finally thought, ‘Darn it, let’s do it. I’m tired of putting it off.’”
The announcement of the commission comes as some state lawmakers have been pressing to pass a law that would permit lawsuits by victims of abuse in which the statute of limitation has passed. The commission is the church’s own answer to give abuse victims an additional measure of justice and closure. The announcement of the commission comes as victims groups and some state lawmakers have been pressing for legislation that would permit lawsuits by victims of abuse in which the statute of limitations has passed. The commission, in some ways, is the church’s own answer on the issue, giving abuse victims some form of justice and closure.
Any victim who agrees to compensation from the fund will sign a document forgoing the right to sue the archdiocese. But any victim who agrees to compensation from the fund will sign a document forgoing the right to sue the archdiocese for the allegations.
Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, the outreach director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, viewed the establishment of the commission with deep skepticism. David G. Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, criticized the program, arguing that the timing of the archdiocese’s move was hardly coincidental.
“It’s too little, too late,” Ms. Dorris said in a statement. Cardinal Dolan’s goal, she said, “is to forestall real legislative reform that would enable deeply wounded victims from using courts to reveal clergy wrongdoers.” “We’ve seen the pattern time and time again across the country,” Mr. Clohessy said. “Whenever statute of limitations reform is making real progress, bishops take these steps, in essence, to say to lawmakers, ‘Hey back off, we’re handling this ourselves.’”
The commission will first contact victims already known to the church and ask them to apply for compensation. Beginning next year, the commission will also welcome victims who have not yet come forward to apply, and will work with law enforcement to investigate allegations against living clergy. He said there were many victims who continued to face soaring medical bills for therapy, and might feel inclined to accept the compensation.
“Dolan is cynically exploiting that fact,” Mr. Clohessy said. “If they can stay out of court, they can protect their secrets.”
The commission will operate in two phases. It will first contact victims already known to the church and ask them to apply for compensation. Beginning next February, the commission will also welcome victims who have not yet come forward, and will work with law enforcement to investigate allegations against living clergy.
The commission will keep all information shared with it confidential, but victims may still choose to go public with their personal stories, Mr. Feinberg said in an interview. In addition to the victims themselves, the parents of minor victims may apply to the fund, as can the legal representatives of deceased victims.
While other dioceses have created compensation commissions, this one is “rather unique” in the amount of independence it has been afforded by the archdiocese to operate, Mr. Feinberg said. Direct oversight of the commission will be handled by a nonchurch panel: Raymond W. Kelly, the former New York City police commissioner; Loretta A. Preska, a federal district judge; and Dr. Jeanette Cueva, a Columbia University psychiatry professor.
Decisions of the commission cannot be appealed or overturned by the archdiocese or the oversight panel.
Victims’ compensation commissions, including the Sept. 11 claims commission, routinely come under criticism because by definition, such commissions settle claims out of court, and therefore out of public view.
But Mr. Feinberg defended the program, stressing that it was voluntary and did not preclude legal reform in Albany.
“If an individual claimant wants the compensation, that’s a decision the individual should make,” Mr. Feinberg said. “No institution should presume to speak for individual victims.”