PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 9 (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence said today that it had reached a $13.5 million settlement with 36 people who say members of the clergy molested them as youngsters.
The settlement covers all but 2 of 38 men and women who sued in the early 1990's, accusing 11 priests and a nun of abusing them.
"This is a day long sought that brings to an end the difficult and often contentious process of litigation that has been painful for most concerned," Bishop Robert E. Mulvee said in a statement. "I hope that this action will be helpful to the victims of abuse and bring them in some way closer to closure and reconciliation with their God, their church, their families and themselves."
The diocese said it would seek internal and external financing to cover the cost of the settlement.
Earlier this year, lawyers for the plaintiffs asked the diocese for $15 million immediately and $8 million over four years to settle the cases. The diocese's finance council rejected that proposal.
For nearly a decade, the diocese refused to turn over documents in the case, citing First Amendment rights to religious freedom.
The Rhode Island courts upheld the church's position until July, when a Superior Court justice ruled that the First Amendment could not be construed as a blanket shield. In his ruling, Justice Robert D. Krause pointed to the American bishops' acknowledgment at their June meeting in Dallas that the church and its flocks had been hurt by a culture of secrecy.
"The church hierarchy became publicly embroiled in a nationwide clamor for reform and for public disclosure of matters relating to priests who sexually assault children," Justice Krause wrote. "Insistence upon disclosure emanated not only from those not associated with the church, but indeed from bishops within the church as well."
Lawyers for people who say priests sexually abused them called the ruling a watershed in one of the longest and hardest-fought lawsuits of its kind.
Rhode Island is the most Roman Catholic state in the nation, with 624,000 Catholics out of a population of about one million. It has more than 400 priests.
The diocese has $97 million in assets, its December financial statement shows, but state law allows the bishop to hold an unlimited amount of land tax-free in his name, with virtually no reporting requirements.
The diocese's assets include the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, used for the 1998 movie "Meet Joe Black"; several beachfront properties; and land in several towns.