Catholic Church pays up

New figures being released by American bishops estimate that the Catholic Church has paid in upwards of $1.06 billion in legal settlements since the issue of sexual abuse by clergy has been brought to light.

At least $378 million has been spent in just the past three years, when the crisis erupted in the Boston Archdiocese and spread nationwide.
The Rev. Thomas Doyle, who left a promising career with the church to help represent victims, had warned the bishops in 1985 that abuse costs could eventually exceed $1 billion.
"Nobody believed us," said Doyle, a canon lawyer. "I remember one archbishop telling me, `My feeling about this, Tom, is no one's ever going to sue the Catholic Church."

No one's gonna sue it, eh? Remember, this isn't the Middle Ages anymore. The common "peasant" now has lawyers at his disposal.

...Many dioceses already had financial problems because of rising labor costs, maintenance for old churches and other expenses, said Charles Zech, an economics professor at Villanova University who studies church finances.

The Boston Archdiocese and several others have agreed to sell property to cover their multimillion-dollar settlements. Three dioceses -- Portland, Oregon, Tucson, Arizona, and Spokane, Washington -- have filed for bankruptcy, and more are expected to follow.

I guess they better get back to selling indulgences...