St. Louis archdiocese settles more cases of clergy abuse

St. Louis, Missouri -- The Archdiocese of St. Louis has agreed to pay $267,500 in mediation to settle seven more cases involving clergy sexual abuse, bringing to $2.4 million the payout covering 31 cases over the past 13 months, a lawyer for the archdiocese said Monday.

A claim in an eighth case apparently will be paid by a religious order."
The latest cases settled involved five archdiocesan priests, including three -- Michael McGrath, Donald "Father Duck" Straub and Robert Yim -- recently defrocked by the Vatican but never criminally charged.

Another newly settled case involved Romano Ferraro, convicted in May of raping a boy in Massachusetts in the 1970s. A St. Louis man sued Ferraro in January 2004, accusing him of raping him in the early 1980s when Ferraro lived here but was not assigned to any St. Louis parish duties. Ferraro -- suspended from priestly duties in 1988 -- is serving a life sentence in Massachusetts.

An eighth case resolved last month involved Vincentian Father Richard Lause. His claim will be paid by the Vincentians.

Read the article at STLtoday dated 02/14/2005

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