Orange County diocese settles

Unlike their counterparts in Portland and Spokane, Orange County priests are acknowledging the damage done by their members (no pun intended). (I like how this article calls it "clergy abuse". Can't tell who's getting abused. And number two, I think child sexual predation and rape rates a little stronger term than "abuse".)

The Orange County diocese reached a settlement with 87 victims of clergy abuse, and a source close to the case told The Associated Press it promised to be bigger than the record $85 million agreement with the Boston Archdiocese.

[...]

[A] participant in the settlement negotiations told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the sum would exceed the record $85 million paid to 552 plaintiffs in Boston in 2003.

"I want to take this opportunity to again extend on behalf of the Diocese of Orange and myself a sincere apology, a request for forgiveness, and a heartfelt hope for reconciliation and healing," said Bishop Tod D. Brown in a statement.

[...]

The record $85 million received by plaintiffs in Boston was curtailed by a Massachusetts law that strictly limits the amount of damages that a charitable organization can be required to pay in a lawsuit.

There is no similar limit in California, but the Diocese of Orange settlement will not bankrupt the diocese or require the closure of any of its 56 parishes, church officials said.

Galveston Daily News article

No doubt.

Elsewhere in the country, the Archdiocese of Louisville also agreed to pay $25.7 million to 27 people, and the Archdiocese of Chicago said it would pay $12 million to 19 people.