Los Angeles, USA - THE United States' largest Roman Catholic archdiocese will pay $60 million (£30m) to settle 45 sex abuse lawsuits. It is the largest payout yet by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and among the biggest resulting from the molestation crisis that has plagued the church.
The cases were among more than 500 abuse claims pending against the LA Archdiocese. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said an agreement had not been signed but the parties were close.
"It's a day of healing and reconciliation as we move forward with these 45 cases," Cardinal Roger Mahony said. "This is very special for these victims in their moment of healing."
The settlement involves 22 priests and allegations from two periods when the archdiocese had limited or no insurance against abuse claims - prior to the mid-1950s and after 1987.
Negotiations had been in progress for at least a year but were held up because plaintiffs' lawyers wanted the church to release the accused priests' personnel files.