The Roman Catholic diocese of Syracuse, N.Y. has paid a total of $11 million to 79 victims abused by its priests, according to syracuse.com, the Syracuse Post-Standard’s website.

The money is part of the Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program (IRCP), administered by renowned New York City lawyer and mediator Kenneth Fineberg, and his colleague Camille Biros.

According to a statement on the diocese of Syracuse website, Fineberg and Biros are serving as independent investigators and “have complete autonomy in deciding compensation for victim-survivors” and the diocese agreed to abide by the lawyers’ decisions.

Fineberg has overseen similar funds in other dioceses, the BP oil spill fund and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

The Archdiocese of New York’s website states that the church voluntarily created the fund as part of “ongoing efforts to respond to the past scourge of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

And “although no amount of money can heal the wounds of child sexual abuse, the IRCP was designed to acknowledge publicly the mistakes made by the Church in the past and to offer victims a tangible sign of the Church’s desire for healing and reconciliation,” according to the diocese of Syracuse report.

In an April 2019 IRCP report, Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, who heads the Syracuse diocese, says that the church acknowledges that it “cannot reverse the damage that was done,” but hopes that by establishing the voluntary fund “will provide an opportunity to seek forgiveness for the irreparable acts of the past and perhaps, bring a sense of closure to some.” 

Cunningham characterized the response from survivors and their families as “extremely positive.”  

The diocese of Syracuse established its IRCP in February 2018. Only those who  reported allegations of abuse by clergy prior to the announcement of the program were permitted to make a claim for compensation. 
According to syracuse.com, victims who reported abuse by a clergy member received letters notifying them of the voluntary program. The deadline to apply for compensation, if one has received a letter, was May 15, the newspaper reports.

The diocese received a total of 88 claims and has resolved 79 of them, according to the April 2019 IRCP report from the diocese of Syracuse. Three claims were found to be ineligible; four victims did not respond; and two victims declined the offer of payment, reportedly in order to pursue litigation against the diocese.

The Archdiocese of New York recently made public the names of 115 priests and 5 deacons “credibly accused” of sexually abusing children. Nearly half of the clergy identified by the archdiocese have admitted to sexual abuse, been convicted criminally or settled the case in a civil court.

The 59 other clergy members died or left the ministry before being accused of sexual abuse, The New York Times reports, and the eight remaining priests were defrocked and “are awaiting final canonical or archdiocesan disposition of allegations against them.”

The diocese report did not give a breakdown of each payment, but syracuse.com reported that two victims provided the news outlet with copies of their offer letters. One victim was offered $5,000, the other $300,000.

The cost to the church totaled $12.5 million, with $1.5 million of it to cover administrative costs, and the remaining $11 million paid to victims.

Funds for the IRCP come from the diocese of Syracuse’s self-insurance general liability program and received no monies from congregant donations, according to the diocese’s report.

The diocese of Syracuse is made up of 127 parishes serving 235,000 Catholics from the following seven counties: Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego. 

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.