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CURRENT
ISSUE: September 5, 2005
VOL.
43, NO. 15Oakland,
CA
Abuse settlement of $56 million in Oakland Diocese
Pledging to continue his commitment to victims of clergy
sex abuse, Bishop Allen Vigneron announced last month that the Oakland
Diocese had reached a global settlement of the 56 lawsuits filed against
it for sexual misconduct of minors by 13 priests.
A total of $56,358,000 will be paid, with $25,318,000 coming from the
diocese and the remainder from its insurers. The $25 million includes
the April 13 jury settlement in the case of two brothers who charged they
were molested by a priest in Antioch two decades ago.
“It is my heartfelt hope that reaching this resolution will help
victim-survivors move forward ever more securely along the path of healing,”
said Bishop Vigneron when the settlement was announced Aug. 5. “I,
together with all the priests of the Roman Catholic community in the East
Bay, will, in the months and years ahead, do whatever is in our power
to be of assistance in this regard.”
The diocese will obtain a three-year loan to cover its portion of the
settlement. Michael Canizzaro, the diocese’s chief financial officer,
said he hopes those funds will be available to the victims before the
end of the year.
The diocese plans to sell some of its undeveloped land to pay off the
loan, but no parish properties or other assets will be touched, Canizzaro
said. Funds raised for other specific purposes, including those for the
Cathedral of Christ the Light and the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, will
not be used to settle the lawsuits.
Canizzaro, acting on advice from the Diocesan Finance Council, said the
diocese will proceed with “an orderly liquidation of properties
necessary to pay off the loan.” Interest on the loan will be absorbed
by the diocesan budget and could result in a reduction in services, he
said.
He emphasized that the diocese is not at risk of bankruptcy. The Archdiocese
of Portland and the dioceses of Spokane and Tucson have all filed bankruptcy
because of massive financial judgments made against them.
A bankruptcy judge has ruled in favor of Tucson’s plan to make $22.2
million available to 77 claimants, but Spokane’s efforts to emerge
from bankruptcy stalled last month when another bankruptcy judge said
that churches, parochial schools and other assets belonging to the Spokane
Diocese could be liquidated if necessary to settle 58 lawsuits. A spokesperson
for Spokane said the diocese intends to appeal that ruling.
Bishop Vigneron said the Oakland Diocese “will not walk away from
the whole issue” of clergy sexual abuse and pledged continual pastoral
care to all victims, both those who filed suits and those who did not.
He will continue to lead apology services at parishes where abuse took
place, a gesture he began shortly after assuming leadership of the diocese
on Oct. 1, 2003. His predecessor, Bishop John Cummins, held an apology
service on March 25, 2000, possibly the first bishop in the U.S. to do
so.
Sister Barbara Flannery, diocesan chancellor and liaison to abuse survivors,
said there will be an apology service this spring for those abused by
priests and Brothers belonging to religious orders while they were serving
in high schools and parishes in the diocese. Although the diocese did
not have direct responsibility for these men, who are accountable to the
superiors of their religious orders, Bishop Vigneron wants to offer a
formal apology to the victims, Sister Flannery said.
In another effort to help survivors heal, the diocese continues to offer
a support group on the first Saturday of each month at Holy Names University.
A therapist with pastoral and clinical expertise guides the group. The
meetings are confidential and new participants are welcome at any time,
Sister Flannery said. Information is available atwww.oakdiocese.org/survivors
or by calling Sister Flannery at 510-267-8334.
Both Bishop Vigneron and Sister Flannery reiterated the importance of
the diocesan Safe Environment Program that trains clergy, church workers
and volunteers in ways to prevent abuse and how to identify and report
possible instances of abuse. This training is one of several steps required
by the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and
Young People, adopted in 2002.
Other requirements of the Charter include:
• A “zero tolerance” policy for clergy, church workers
and volunteers. No one with a credible complaint of sexual abuse of minors
will be permitted to remain in ministry.
• Mandatory reporting to law enforcement of any accusation of sexual
abuse of a minor.
• An annual compliance audit to insure that diocesan policies and
practices meet or exceed the standards established in the Charter and
its accompanying Essential Norms.
• An independent review board to evaluate complaints and advise
the bishop on an accused person’s fitness for ministry.
• Enhanced screening and background checks of priests and other
ministerial workers who transfer into the diocese.
• A fingerprint check of all diocesan clergy, church workers and
volunteers in positions that bring them into contact with children.
The $56 million settlement in the Oakland Diocese was the fourth major
one in California since the state enacted a one-year window in 2003 during
which victims of childhood sexual abuse could file claims previously barred
by the statute of limitations. About 800 claims against the Church were
filed statewide
In June, the Diocese of Sacramento agreed to pay $35 million to settle
34 lawsuits and the San Francisco Archdiocese and its insurers reached
a $21.5 million settlement with 15 plaintiffs who claimed they were molested
by five priests. In July the archdiocese settled with 12 people allegedly
molested by a priest during the 1970s for a total of $16 million. These
settlements represent about half the cases filed against San Francisco.
Last January, the Diocese of Orange finalized an agreement under which
90 victims received a total of $100 million. The Diocese of Santa Rosa
settled its eight cases involving three priests for $7.3 million on June
29.
No settlement is expected soon in the more than 550 lawsuits filed against
the Los Angeles Archdiocese, according to a report published last month
in the archdiocesan newspaper.
The Aug. 2 Los Angeles progress report said that “we are certain
that we have adequate insurance coverage to reach a fair and proportionate
settlement with all victims” but did not offer a specific amount.
Part of the delay in reaching a settlement involves a legal dispute concerning
archdiocesan plans to make public its documents about accused priests.
A lawyer for some of the priests named in the files has argued that the
documents contain private information about his clients that should not
be made public.
