Another sad chapter. They should have thought about this long ago when the first allegations were reported. I read an article which said the Archdiocese of Boston may have to sell property to fund these settlements. There's an irony here. All these liberal kooks and Liberation Theology nuts for years had been moaning about how the Church needed to get more in touch with poverty. Odd that lawsuits over aggravated sodomy would be the way back to the catacombs.
If justice were really being served, a few bishops and a cardinal or two doing prison time might help to quell the need for large payments for civil suits.
Money is often a substitute for those who cannot get justice in any other way.
I do not understand how the hierarchy can get off without charges of criminal activity.
There are laws about "required reporters," i.e. those who suspect child abuse. Does this not apply to these bishops and cardianls ?