"Spokane Diocese settles sex abuse claims" - AP

The AP reports:

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Catholic Diocese has agreed to pay at least $48 million to people molested by priests as a part of a deal to emerge from bankruptcy, a federal mediator announced Thursday.

The proposed reorganization plan was filed in federal bankruptcy court in Spokane. It still must be approved by victims and another bankruptcy judge.

The settlement would be financed by $20 million from six insurance carriers; another $18 million from the sale of the bishop‘s office building and other assets and contributions from Catholic entities; and $10 million from the diocese‘s 82 parishes, Zive said.

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The settlement requires Spokane Bishop William Skylstad to publicly support eliminating statutes of limitations on child sex crimes and to personally visit each parish where children were abused to urge parishioners to come forward with reports of abuse, according to court documents.

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Other [previous] large settlements include $100 million paid to 87 claimants in 2005 by the Diocese of Orange County, Calif., and $85 million paid to 552 claimants in 2003 by the Archdiocese of Boston.