Seattle Archdiocese to Pay $12M for Abuse Claims
The Seattle Catholic Archdiocese says it has agreed to pay $12.1 million to settle 30 sexual abuse claims filed by men who say they were abused decades ago at two archdiocesan schools operated by the Christian Brothers religious order.
The claims involved O’Dea High School in Seattle and the Briscoe School, a boarding and day school for boys in suburban Kent. The archdiocese continues to operate O’Dea but the Christian Brothers are no longer involved. Archdiocese spokesman Greg Magnoni says the Briscoe School closed in the late 1960s.
Archbishop J. Peter Sartain said Tuesday he deeply regrets “the pain suffered by these victims.”
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Michael Pfau says the settlement is “the first step in allowing all parties to focus on the future.”
The settlement will be paid by archdiocesan insurance.
Pfau says the men will also receive settlement money from the Christian Brothers bankruptcy proceeding.