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Priest Sex Abuse Scandal Puts High Toll on Catholic Churches
Aired March 20, 2002 - 14:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The head of the Catholic Church of New York defending his past handling of child sex abuse matters. Cardinal Edward Egan says he is confident cases were handled appropriately. The cardinal's statement points out sexual abuse of children is not only immoral, it is also illegal. He urges those with allegations to take them to civil authorities. The cardinal says his heart goes out to victims and their families involved.
The priest sex abuse scandal has put a massive financial toll on Catholic churches. Diocese have paid out multimillion-dollar settlements to victims. Jason Carroll now, with a look at where the money comes from.
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JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Catholic Church is at a crossroads, both morally and financially. It's bearing the burden of scores of scandals involving its priests and allegations of sexual abuse. Estimates of the total pay-outs to victims nationwide, staggering, from $300 million $1 billion. And with each new case comes concerns among parishioners about where all the money is coming from.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that obviously if there is a settlement it needs to be separate from what the church parishioners actually provide.
CARROLL: A point many who attend All Saints Church in Dallas made clear in 1997, in a case involving former priest Rudolph Kos. A jury awarded the plaintiff $119.6 million, the largest clergy abuse judgment in history.
BRONSON HAVARD, DALLAS ARCHDIOCESE: We thought about bankruptcy here in the diocese of Dallas.
CARROLL (on camera): It got that serious?
HAVARD: It got that serious.
CARROLL (voice-over): The threat of bankruptcy got the judgment reduced to $31 million. Insurance, as in many cases, covered part of the cost, leaving the church to come up with $11 million.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The upstairs was a high school. This was our cafeteria.
CARROLL: So, church properties, like the city block that St. Ann's sits on, were sold. The former Catholic school was loved by the Mexican American community, many of whom are still angry over its sale.
LEORA VILLAREAL, PARISHIONER: Why should we be the ones singled out to pay for this?
ALBERT GONZALEZ, PARISHIONER: One signature got rid of the property.
CARROLL: The Diocese says it didn't want to take it from parish donations so other sacrifices were made. And admittedly, those who were hurt were the most vulnerable.
BISHOP CHARLES GRAHAM, DALLAS ARCHDIOCESE: In a sense, I think those properties -- who suffered? The poor suffered.
CARROLL: In Tucson, Arizona, the diocese will borrow money to pay what insurance won't cover in an undisclosed settlement reached last month. In Boston, the archdiocese could end up paying $100 million out of its own pocket in past and pending claims against former priest John Geoghan, as well as other priests.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are considering all of our options at this time. That may include assets, the feasibility of loans, private donations.
CARROLL: The archdiocese wouldn't reveal its financial information, but it says it won't dip into donations to pay for settlements. Even so, parishioners say money won't cover the cost in their loss of faith and trust. Jason Carroll, CNN, Dallas, Texas.
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