Jennifer L. Henn  |  August 6, 2020

Category: Legal News

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What is the clergy abuse compensation fund?

The Diocese of Camden in New Jersey is suspending its participation in the Independent Victim Compensation Program indefinitely due to financial constraints caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it says.

Church officials announced on July 31 the diocese could no longer afford to make payouts through the clergy abuse compensation fund because it has suffered a sharp decline in revenue during the COVID-19 crisis. A statement posted on the diocesan website says the collective of churches is “fast approaching a point where it will not be able to continue to borrow the funds necessary to pay the amounts awarded by the program.”

The Independent Victim Compensation Program was established in 2019 by the five Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey to settle claims of childhood sexual abuse by priests or other members of the clergy.

Revenue Loss Blamed in Halting Clergy Abuse Compensation Fund

Camden officials have already informed the administrators of the Independent Victim Compensation Program that the diocese is halting its participation, according to the official statement.

“Although awards already made by the IVCP Administrators will be paid, the Diocese is instituting a moratorium on further determinations or awards,” the statement says. “These steps are necessary in order to maintain the critical programs that the Diocese of Camden continues to provide for the communities it serves which, now more than ever, are so essential.”

What is the clergy abuse compensation fund?The diocese serves some 475,000 Catholics in six counties in southern New Jersey. To date, it has paid out $7.6 million to survivors of childhood sexual assault who made claims to the clergy abuse compensation fund.

Between 1990 and the creation of the fund, the diocese paid out more than $10 million to settle sex abuse claims, it says.

It is unclear how long the Diocese of Camden will remain inactive in the Independent Victim Compensation Program.

“When we are able to recover from the effects of the pandemic, we expect to again offer compensation to victims,” Michael Walsh, a spokesman for the diocese, was quoted in the Courier Post as saying.

Victims Advocate Critical of Diocese

Some advocates for the victims of childhood sexual abuse criticized the diocese’s action. Among them was Mark Crawford of the New Jersey chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

In a news story published by WHYY, Southern New Jersey’s PBS member station, he was quoted as saying it is unfair to “use COVID as an excuse not to offer any kind of compensation at this time” when the churches are still raising funds and holding assets that could be sold off to benefit abuse victims. The article said Crawford called on the diocese to disclose its financial records to the public.

Clergy Abuse Compensation Fund Background

New Jersey’s Independent Victim Compensation Program was established in February 2019 by the Archdiocese of Newark and the dioceses of Camden, Metuchen, Trenton and Paterson to offer survivors of sexual abuse by members of its clergy an alternative to taking their cases to court. The program is voluntary, and private, and those who participate in it can reject settlement proposals and take their cases to court.

Those who accept settlements under the compensation program though must agree not to file civil actions against the church later.

Alleged victims had eight months, starting in June 2019, to file claims. By the time the window to apply had closed, some 560 alleged survivors had come forward.

According to the program’s most recent report issued at the end of January 2020, 69 of the victims who applied for consideration reached settlements with the church and $11 million was paid out.

The program is being administered by Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, who have done the same work for compensation funds for abuse victims in New York and Pennsylvania as well as for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, the BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Fund and a fund for victims in the Penn State University sexual abuse scandal.

Camden Diocese Second to Halt Victim Payouts Due to COVID-19

The Diocese of Camden is the second to suspend participation in a clergy abuse compensation fund and cite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the reason.

In April, the Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania announced it would stop making payments from its own Independent Survivors’ Reparation Program because the fund’s investments had suffered losses due to the pandemic. The program had paid out approximately $6 million to about 50 victims of the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal at that point and 40 claims remained unresolved, a report by the local news website GoErie.com said.

Join a Free New Jersey Catholic Church Abuse Lawsuit Investigation

If you were sexually abused by a Catholic priest in New Jersey, you now have two options for pursuing compensation. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation by New Jersey Catholic Church abuse lawyers.

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

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