This stipulation was established because these carriers had stopped providing insurance after 1986.įour claimants were not offered the opportunity to participate in the process. The process only applied to credible, pending claims of which the diocese had notice by noon on June 2, 2008, concerning acts which took place prior to October 1986. In order to be eligible to participate in this voluntary arbitration process, the claimants first had to complete for the arbitrators, under oath, a confidential questionnaire developed by the insurance carriers. The diocese waived all legal defenses including the statute of limitations or charitable immunity for these cases. After hearing from the victims, and witnesses they offered, and reviewing medical materials, the mediators awarded each individual an amount between $5,000 and $200,000. The arbitration process provided the victims with a hearing at which they could tell their stories and not be subject to questioning by attorneys for the insurance carriers or the diocese. They were chosen based on their experience in mediating many sexual abuse claims throughout New England. The arbitration process was handled by Paul Finn and Brian Mone of Commonwealth Mediation and Conciliation in Brockton, Mass. The former Springfield bishop financially contributed in those two settlements. Dupré when he was a diocesan priest in the 1970s. Included in those who settled the cases were the two people who alleged misconduct by former Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Neither inquiry produced any evidence that the diocese had fore-knowledge of the wrongdoing.Įach of the accused in these 59 cases, including clergy and a single woman religious, has been out of public ministry for years, or is deceased. I apologize to all who have been hurt."Ī Hampden County Grand Jury convened in 2004 and, more recently, the insurance carriers had conducted separate and expansive reviews of diocesan records from the time periods in question. My prayer is that a small step toward healing takes place through these settlements. "The aftereffects impact the person's whole life. "It's a terrible thing for anyone to suffer sexual abuse, but even more so for a child," he said. McDonnell said that it was out of a sense of moral responsibility that the diocese reached out to those suffering the aftereffects of clergy sexual abuse. For that reason, the programs offered through the Office of Victim Assistance will still be available to them." "Finally, we recognize this does not provide closure for them, but we see it as support and assistance as they seek to mend their lives. "The claimants' patience was a key part to our being able to recover from the insurance carriers and put together a process for resolving their individual claims that drew their complete participation. "The level of participation was extraordinary and in my view a tribute to fairness of the process. He said he was thankful that there was 100 percent participation by those invited to take part in the mediation. Egan, legal counsel to the Diocese of Springfield, spearheaded the four-year effort to get insurance carriers to fulfill their obligations to the victims. This was paid entirely through a fund set up by diocesan insurance carriers under an agreement reached with the diocese in late June. In total, $4.5 million was awarded on Nov. In addition to these financial settlements, all victims remain eligible to receive continuing counseling and assistance programs through the diocese. Each had been invited to participate in a voluntary arbitration process. SPRINGFIELD – The Diocese of Springfield has reached agreements with 59 men and women who came forward to speak of their past abuse by clergy and religious. Diocese Resolves 59 Abuse Claims through Voluntary Arbitration, The Observer, ĭiocese Resolves 59 Abuse Claims through Voluntary Arbitration
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