The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston wants to create a sex-abuse settlement fund valued in the tens of millions of dollars, to be divided among victims of pedophile priests according to guidelines put in place by outside mediators, church insiders and a lawyer confirmed yesterday.
Two church sources said yesterday that Bernard Cardinal Law continues to push for a more rapid resolution of claims against the church – often telling fretful financial advisers a major reason for an umbrella settlement fund is to help victims move toward healing, and the church toward recovery.
``He wants this taken care of,'' an insider said.
The move comes as lawyers for plaintiffs say their clients are distraught by the church's slow resolution of lawsuits, and increasingly eager to bring their cases to trial.
Another incentive for the archdiocese is that Law, barring another last-minute cancellation, is set for a grueling deposition on Thursday morning - with victims of defrocked pedophile John J. Geoghan present.
``One way or the other, this fund will be set up,'' said Roderick MacLeish Jr. of Greenberg, Trauwig, an attorney for scores of priests' victims who has specialized in settlement funds.
The fund could be launched by June, said MacLeish, who discussed the proposal with the church this weekend. ``It's just a matter of how, and how much,'' he said. ``It is crucial that victims, as with the Sept. 11 Fund, have rapid access to therapy even while awaiting a final settlement.''
Lawyers for the church and for scores of abuse victims traded suggestions this weekend in an effort to solidify the concept behind the fund, which would be aimed at expediting settlements for those who sign away their rights to sue.
But for the church fund to work, lawyers for plaintiffs say, it would have to overcome several hurdles.
Paramount, they say, is speed.
Many victims are telling their legal counsel that ongoing delays in settlement talks with The Rogers Law Firm are exacerbating their pain and suffering. Without immediate action by Law, victims are pressing their lawyers to attach church assets or subpoena bishops and others for sworn depositions.
``On a daily basis we are having to deal with grave emotional crises among the victims and their families,'' said Jeffrey A. Newman, attorney for 14 victims of convicted Middleton predator Christopher J. Reardon and for 62 accusers of other priests or church workers. ``All this falls at the feet of the church. If nothing happens soon we will have no option but to sue.''
Law has said publicly several times since the pedophilia scandal erupted he wants cases handled quickly and generously.
But money remains the obvious unsettled issue for the church.
Some 200 accusers have brought claims in the last decade, and scores more, emboldened by publicity, are even now coming forward with new, credible claims.
Legal experts, MacLeish among them, say the realistic amount for any independently administered fund is $100 million - an estimate the Herald first reported last week.
Putting a number to the fund would allow archdiocesan officials and their influential outside advisers to define the scope of the church's liability, and formulate a long-term plan to cope with the costs. Law has repeatedly insisted that Sunday collections will not go toward paying abuse settlements.
Court documents and previously secret settlement papers reviewed by the Herald indicate that the pay-out for a victim of priestly abuse averages about $250,000.
While there are close to 950 priests in the archdiocese, there is no way to be sure fresh complaints will not arise as victims recall abuse or decide to come forward with allegations long held secret.
The archdiocese could limit its exposure to $20,000 per victim under the state's charitable immunity law. But to do so, the archdiocese would have to refuse to honor possibly large jury awards against individual priests or supervisors.
Law and other top church officials already face personal claims, and lawyers have indicated that more claims are likely to come.
The archdiocese's insurance money for most years since 1970 has been used up to settle cases, the Herald reported last month.
Geoghan, one of the worst serial abusers, has alone reportedly cost the archdiocese some $10 million in settlements and legal costs.
But Geoghan victims who have yet to settle pose perhaps the biggest hurdle in reaching an umbrella settlement. For now, 86 of them, all represented by Mitchell Garabedian, are furthest along in talks with the church.
With Garabedian's deposition of Law looming, his lawyers are eager to resolve those claims.
Several sources say the amount Law's lawyers are pushing on Garabedian is $20 million.
But Garabedian, who refused to discuss figures, said he is frustrated with the fits and starts of negotiation, and the confusing signals he receives from the church.
``I am willing to discuss many avenues of relief for my clients,'' he said. ``But my clients have the right to know the facts of this case – that Cardinal Law had direct knowledge of Mr. Geoghan's history of molestation. Frankly, many of my clients want to attend the deposition and face the cardinal as he answers these very questions.''
MacLeish said a settlement review board would ideally consist of a panel of judges and forensic examiners experienced in both the questioning plaintiffs and assessing appropriate damages.
Such assessments would be tiered, he said, based on a victim's extent of harm, loss of productivity, cost of therapy and other familiar variables.
Attorneys said some accusers would still want to go to trial, but many plaintiffs would welcome a chance to settle and move on.
``The church has done a lot of talking and not a lot of settling,'' Newman said. ``It's no wonder so many people are suspicious of their true intentions.''