Abuses In Church

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The settlement figures have not yet been officially announced.

The diocese is expected to sell property to raise the compensation funds.

Ray Boucher, lead plaintiff lawyer in the case, said the settlement also called for the release of confidential priest personnel files.

"Transparency is a critical part of this and of all resolutions," he said.

Healing process

Steven Sanchez, a plaintiff in the case, said he was both relieved and disappointed by the outcome.

"I was really emotionally ready to take on the archdiocese in court in less than 48 hours, but I'm glad all victims are going to be compensated," he said.

"I hope all victims will find some type of healing in this process."

David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said while it was the largest settlement by the Church, money was not the key objective for victims.

"It is never about the money. Victims want healing, prevention, closing, accountability," he said.

The diocese has not yet commented on the settlement but said Church officials planned to be in court on Monday morning.

In a recent letter to parishioners, Cardinal Roger Mahony said the Church would be selling an administrative building and was considering the sale of about 50 other Church properties to raise funds for settlement.

Since 2002 nearly 1,000 people have filed such claims against the Roman Catholic Church in California alone.

In February 2004, a report commissioned by the Church said more than 4,000 Roman Catholic priests in the US had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years.

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Bishop dogged by abuse allegations dies

Bishop Earl Paulk, a charismatic preacher brought down by a series of sex scandals, has died. He was 81.

Paulk died near midnight Saturday at the Atlanta Medical Center, a nursing supervisor confirmed to CNN. The bishop had been at the hospital for several days, she said.

Paulk's death came after an "extended and horrible battle with cancer," Paulk's nephew, Bishop Jim Swilley, wrote in a blog post.

Paulk founded the Chapel Hill Harvester Church in Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta. It quickly grew to become one of the first megachurches in the country. Paulk also had his own television show.

But his success as a preacher was overshadowed time and again by allegations of sexual impropriety.

One allegation ended in a civil suit that was settled out of court in 2003. The accuser said Paulk molested her when she was a child.

A second woman claimed the bishop forced her into a 14-year affair. She filed, withdrew and refiled a suit.

Dennis Brewer, an attorney for Paulk, admitted to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Paulk had a brief adulterous relationship with the woman, but said she was the initiator.

During a deposition in the case, the bishop said under oath the woman was the only one he slept with outside of marriage. But a court-ordered paternity test showed that he also fathered a child with his sister-in-law.

Other allegations -- some true, some unfounded -- cost the church membership, as worshippers dwindled from 10,000 to about 1,000.

"As most of you know, my family has been walking through a very long nightmare season in connection with things concerning him," Swilley wrote in his blog post. "Please pray for some much needed healing and closure for us all."

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-irish-abuse21-2009may21,0,538239.story?page=1

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/world/2010/02/100207_l11_aa_germany_church_abuse.shtml