The seat of the Roman Catholic Church in New York says it has paid roughly $40 million in compensation to victims of sexual abuse. The payments mark the end of a reconciliation program to evaluate claims by alleged abuse victims. And the New York archdiocese has lobbied against a bill, called the Child Victims Act, that would make it easier for victims of long-past abuse to come forward. Some victims’ rights advocates criticized the church’s reconciliation program, claiming the archdiocese was establishing it to avoid litigation and appease victims. Like many of the nation’s dioceses, the New York Catholic Church has grappled with the clergy sexual abuse crisis for over a decade, though many of the cases date back much longer than that.

Source: Huffington Post December 07, 2017 22:18 UTC