Payouts to Abuse Victims by Pennsylvania Catholic Dioceses

According to an analysis conducted by the Associated Press, the victim compensation programs established by seven of the eight Catholic Dioceses in Pennsylvania have paid out a total of $84 million to 564 survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The seven programs were operated independently of each other and differed in their protocol and payouts. The majority of the programs were administered by Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, the most experienced administrators of childhood sexual abuse victims’ funds.

According to the Associated Press, in Pennsylvania, the average payouts to individual survivors break down as follows:

• Overall compensation paid – $84 million to 564 survivors: an average of $148,000
• Compensation paid by Feinberg/Biros administered funds: an average of $169,000
• Compensation paid by Greensburg Diocese: an average of $82,000.

A compensation fund can be an alternative to litigation but the compensation paid is less than what could be awarded in a jury trial. [In some cases, there is no litigation alternative — such is generally the case (currently) in Pennsylvania.]

As an alternative to litigation, a compensation fund provides a simplified and efficient administrative process for survivors to obtain financial compensation. However, critics of the funds assert that they enable the Dioceses to keep hidden their documents and information about abusive clergy and what the Diocese did/did not do in response to learning about the abuse. On the other hand, a compensation program enables a survivor to avoid giving deposition/trial testimony, the protracted stress that litigation can impart and the risk that a jury will render a defense verdict.

Whether or not to participate in a compensation fund is a highly–individualized decision that should be made with the assistance of an attorney who has experience dealing with such compensation programs.