Clergy Abuse Reparations Are Closure For Some Victims, Resurface Trauma For Others

After more than a decade of investigations into sexual abuse in Pennsylvania's Catholic Church, last year's grand jury report still contained new revelations.
The numbers were superlative — more than 1,000 allegations against 301 priests, spanning seven decades.
Reactions came swiftly. The U.S. Department of Justice began investigating. Victims demanded new laws. Leaders of seven of Pennsylvania's eight dioceses announced compensation programs, offering confidential settlements in exchange for agreeing never to sue the church. Hundreds of victims have now taken lump sum payments averaging from $120,000 to nearly a quarter-million dollars.