Los Angeles: Six Catholic dioceses in the United States rolled out a “compensation program” on Tuesday as an alternative to court proceedings for minors sexually abused by clergy.
The programme by the dioceses, all of which are located in California, will be managed by two independent monitors who have handled similar programmes in New York and Pennsylvania, the Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Gomez said in a letter to worshippers.
According to California church officials, the programme will be open to anybody who was abused by a priest as a minor, including people residing in the US illegally and those for whom the statute of limitations to prosecute their abuser has expired.
No lawyer will be necessary, and the process will be free and conducted in a “non-adversarial” manner that respects victims’ privacy, according to the letter.
The six dioceses involved in the programme represent some 10 million Catholics in California, many of whom have origins in Latin America where the church is particularly strong.
The programme’s announcement came the same day that five Catholic molestation victims filed a lawsuit in a Minnesota federal court asking a judge to compel the Vatican to open its archives and release details of abusive priests. (PTI)
