Archdiocese of Philadelphia grants over $50 million in financial reparations to survivors of sexual abuse americamagazine.org

As the Sept. 30, 2019, deadline for filing the forms approached, program administrators reported a surge in claims, which totaled 616 as of May 30 of this year. Of those, “the overwhelming majority” have been “meritorious.”

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has paid out or approved over $50 million so far to 222 clergy sex abuse survivors, according to a new report from the Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program.

IRRP was launched in November 2018 as a means of providing settlements to claimants alleging abuse by archdiocesan clergy.

The program’s administrators, acting independently of the archdiocese, assess claims and offer compensation with no monetary cap, either individually or in total. Claims are considered regardless of how long ago the events in question occurred, or whether the statute of limitations had expired.

The archdiocese has pledged to pay all awards as indicated by the plan and agreed to by the survivors.