Alleged abuse victims conflicted over deal

Mahony has promised that no funds directly relating to the church’s mission would be used. He said the archdiocese had been segregating funds to pay for the litigation for some time.

Still, archdiocese officials told NBC News, an undetermined percentage of parishioners’ offerings would be paid out to alleged victims, and they said they would likely have to sell some church property unrelated to direct ministry, such as underused hospitals.

Key to the settlement is the church’s agreement not to try to block the release of accused priests’ confidential personnel files, which it will turn over to a retired judge for review.

Some records, such as psychological examinations, cannot be released. But plaintiffs lawyers said they expected many details of alleged abuses by more than 200 accused priests would be brought to light in the months and years to come.

The father of one alleged victim, who he said was repeatedly abused as a youngster by a “dear friend,” said the release of the records was a big victory for the plaintiffs.

“We want to know that our house is clean,” said the man, who asked NBC News not to identify him to protect his child.

Settlement driven by circumstances
Alleged victims and attorneys said both sides were under a pressing deadline to reach the settlement, with the first court trial in the litigation scheduled to have begun later Monday. They said the church’s insurers were unwilling to let the cases reach juries, and that many victims were reluctant to relive their experiences on the stand.

“I think the timing is very interesting,” said Lee Bashforth, a plaintiff who is head of the Orange County chapter of the advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

“This has been a long and painful struggle that’s lasted more than five years for many of us,” he said in an interview with MSNBC, “and I don’t think it’s any surprise that it’s being settled now.”

Michael Hennigan, an attorney for the archdiocese, told reporters: “I think for those of us who have been involved in this for more than five years, it’s a huge relief. But it’s a disappointment, too, that we didn’t get it done much earlier than this.”

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