Reeling from child sex abuse scandals, the Roman Catholic Church in Boston rejected a proposed settlement of up to $30 million with 86 alleged victims of a defrocked priest as another cleric agreed to return to the area to face charges of raping a boy.
The decision came after state legislators passed a law ordering clergy to report cases of suspected abuse to social workers, following allegations the church has known about priest molesters but failed to keep them away from children.
The Boston Archdiocese's financial council threw out the settlement with the victims of defrocked priest John Geoghan, fearing it would use up funds also needed to compensate an increasing number of other alleged victims in the area. The council rejected the plea of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, the senior US Catholic prelate, to approve the deal.
Molestation allegations against Geoghan, who is serving a prison term for fondling a 10-year-old boy, triggered the sexual abuse crisis that has roiled the US Catholic Church and reverberated to the Vatican. More than 130 people accuse him of molesting them during his 30 years in the Boston area.
The archdiocese, which serves 2 million Catholics, also faces a suit involving a 71-year-old priest.