Archbishop Gomez apologizes to sexual abuse victims in Los Angeles, agrees to pay $880 million to 1353 people

Los Angeles, October 17 (Hindustan Reporter) The shameful act of a Catholic priest, who sexually abused hundreds of people in the United States as children, has taken a heavy toll on the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the country's largest. After a long legal battle, the archdiocese has finally agreed to pay $880 million to 1,353 such people.

This is the highest payout in an archdiocese, The New York Times reported. The cumulative total of sexual assault cases in Los Angeles exceeds $1.5 billion. The agreement to pay $880 million was announced Wednesday in a joint statement from attorneys for the plaintiffs and the archdiocese. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in the statement that he apologized to the people for each of the incidents. Hopefully this agreement will alleviate some of the suffering of these persecuted men and women. Terrence McKiernan, president of BishopsAccountability.org, said it first agreed in 2007 to pay $660 million in lawsuits by 508 people. A monitoring group has since monitored reports of clergy abuse.