MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester reached a settlement with 16 people who sued over allegations of sexual abuse by clergymen, the church said Thursday.
In a statement, the diocese said it would announce details Thursday afternoon. All 16 were clients of Concord lawyer Charles Douglas, whose office said he was in court.
Douglas and other lawyers have said they hoped for a settlement.
"At this point, we're willing to do anything we can to help bring resolution for people," the Rev. Edward Arsenault, diocesan chancellor, said in July.
Arsenault has also said the church wanted any settlements to include a "pastoral element" that lets the church try to make spiritual, as well as monetary, amends.
"The accusations that have been made are about fractured relationships, and Bishop (John) McCormack is committed to doing whatever we can do to help heal those relationships," he said.
The diocese, which covers New Hampshire, is being sued by more than 100 alleged victims altogether. The attorney general's office is also investigating how the diocese handled complaints of sexual abuse by priests. The results are expected in December.
The bishop has come under heavy criticism this year for his handling of sex abuse claims in his former post as an aide to Boston Cardinal Bernard Law.
The Manchester diocese has said no active priest in New Hampshire is the subject of credible molestation charges or allegations.
In May, Douglas announced he was representing eight alleged victims, including one who said he was abused by the Rev. Leo Shea, a retired priest who pleaded guilty in 1994 to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old altar boy.
According to a parish directory, Shea lives in Danbury. He has not responded to efforts to reach him at home or through the diocese.
The suit said Shea molested a plaintiff at another priest's funeral around 1970 at St. Anthony's church in Manchester.
"Shea would chase the altar boys around the church, corner them and attack them," Douglas charged in the Hillsborough County Superior Court lawsuit.
The suit also alleged abuse by the Rev. Philip Breton of Assumption Parish in Tilton and the Rev. Hubert Mann of St. Charles Parish in Dover. According to the lawsuit, both have died.
The suit did not identify any of the alleged victims.