Lawyer: Church paid clients $80M

CHICAGO — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has paid $80 million to 160 victims of sexual abuse by clergy represented by a single law firm since 2001, the lawyer who heads the Minnesota-based firm told reporters Tuesday.

According to a statement issued later by the archdiocese, it has paid around $200 million in all to settle litigation accusing clergy of sexual misconduct over recent decades.

Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing accusers nationwide, told a Chicago news conference it was the first time he’s publicly revealed the amount paid to clients abused by nearly 50 members of the clergy.

Anderson said the payments over nearly 20 years averaged $500,000 per victim, with some payouts to individuals running into the millions of dollars and others only into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The $80 million includes recent settlements for seven accusers represented by Anderson’s firm. It doesn’t include payments to survivors represented by other law firms, and doesn’t include more than 35 still-ongoing cases being handled by Anderson and his fellow lawyers.

The brief Tuesday statement from the archdiocese said it doesn’t disclose settlement payouts to specific law firms or individuals. It did acknowledge the payments have strained the budget of the archdiocese, which serves more than 2 million Catholics in and around Chicago.

“The Archdiocese of Chicago has made significant progress in recent years in stabilizing our finances” but still “face challenges due to misconduct settlements, the declining size of our congregation and other factors,” the statement said.