Miami archdiocese in 5.2 million dollar settlement over child sex abuse

Miami, Florida -

The Miami archdiocese of the Roman Catholic church paid out 5.2 million dollars in settlements of child sex abuse cases in 2004, according to its annual report presented by Archbishop John Favalora.

Since it introduced legal insurance coverage in 1966, the Miami archdiocese has paid out 17.6 million dollars in settlements and legal counsel for priests, nuns and lay employees, the report said.

The report "Protecting God's Children" published since 2003, aims to evaluate sex abuse cases in the Catholic church, following a 2002 scandal involving priests.

The November 2002 bishops' conference held in Dallas, Texas set out rules to follow in cases of priests involved in sex abuse crimes against children in the United States.

In 2003 and 2004, 16 new lawsuits were brought against the church, bringing the total since 1966 to 80 claims, plus 20 against law employees and six against religious orders.

Read the article at Yahoo! News dated Feb 1, 2005

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