Spanish
New York.- The cardinal and Catholic archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, said this Monday that he hopes to raise 300 million dollars to compensate victims of sexual abuse of minors in his archdiocese and opened the door to a mediation process to reach an agreement.
In a letter, Dolan noted that he had met with victims to address the resolution of their cases through a global agreement negotiated with the assistance of a mediator. He added that both parties have contacted retired judge Daniel Buckley to assume that role, due to his experience in similar cases in the U.S. Dolan indicated that the archdiocese, the largest in the U.S., has made "very difficult financial decisions", such as laying off workers and reducing its operating budget by 10%. It is also finalizing the sale of several properties, after having sold its headquarters in Manhattan this year."When completed, we expect these transactions to result in more than $300 million, funds that can be set aside to provide compensation to survivors of sexual abuse," he explained.
He also said that the archdiocese's efforts to compensate victims have been "complicated by legal issues" with its insurer for decades, Chubb, which has "refused to comply with the policies" that the entity paid for and that included coverage for allegations of sexual misconduct. The cardinal, who sent the letter on the occasion of Advent, said that the sexual abuse of minors is a "shame" in the Church, asked for forgiveness from the "betrayed" victims and pointed out that the organization has worked to strengthen child protection protocols and give justice to those affected by this scourge. The Archdiocese of New York revealed five years ago the names of 120 priests and deacons accused of sexual abuse of minors or for having child pornography, in an attempt to move towards reconciliation and justice. According to local media, some 1,300 people have reported being victims of sexual abuse when they were minors by priests and workers of the archdiocese.
