The Archdiocese of Boston, the epicenter of a pedophile priest scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church, agreed last night to pay up to $85 million to settle lawsuits filed by hundreds of people who say they were sexually abused by clergy.
The proposed deal, reached after secret weekend talks involving Archbishop Sean O'Malley, would mark the largest single payout by a US Catholic diocese to settle civil litigation, church experts said.
Lawyers for more than 540 plaintiffs said they had reached a memorandum of understanding with the church calling for each victim to receive between $80,000 and $300,000, depending on the degree of abuse suffered. The church also agreed to offer victims continued mental and spiritual counseling.
But lawyers cautioned that the proposed agreement was not yet a done deal. More than 80 per cent of victims must agree to the proposed settlement's terms before it can be finalized.
Mr Gary Bergeron, one of the hundreds of plaintiffs, called the proposed deal the end of a "painful journey." He said no amount of money would take away his suffering, but that the agreement nonetheless represented a huge symbolic victory.
"From this day forward, I am not an alleged victim of clergy abuse. I am recognised, I am a survivor," he told reporters in Boston after lawyers announced the proposed settlement.
Mr Mitchell Garabedian, one of the lawyers who hammered out the deal, said he expects some plaintiffs to balk at the terms. But another lawyer, Mr William Gordon, said "an overwhelming majority" would likely sign off on the deal.
In a statement, the archdiocese also said it was confident most victims would accept the offer, which was $30 million above its initial offer of $55 million last month.