{"id":68940,"date":"2019-05-14T13:04:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T16:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/english-california-catholic-dioceses-announce-new-compensation-program-for-abuse-victims\/"},"modified":"2019-05-14T13:06:09","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T17:06:09","slug":"las-diocesis-catolicas-de-california-anuncian-nuevo-programa-de-indemnizacion-para-las-victimas-de-abuso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/las-diocesis-catolicas-de-california-anuncian-nuevo-programa-de-indemnizacion-para-las-victimas-de-abuso\/","title":{"rendered":"California Catholic Dioceses Announce New Compensation Program for Abuse Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[\n\/* Style Definitions *\/\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n.prngen3{\nBORDER-TOP:1pt; BORDER-RIGHT:1pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: BOTTOM; BORDER-BOTTOM:1pt; TEXT-ALIGN: RIGHT; PADDING-LEFT:0.50em; BORDER-LEFT:1pt; PADDING-RIGHT:0.50em\n}\n.prngen2{\nBORDER-TOP:1pt; BORDER-RIGHT:1pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: BOTTOM; BORDER-BOTTOM:1pt; PADDING-LEFT:0.50em; BORDER-LEFT:1pt; PADDING-RIGHT:0.50em\n}\n.prntblns{\nBORDER-TOP: 1pt; BORDER-RIGHT: 1pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: 1pt\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">SACRAMENTO, Calif.<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">May 14, 2019<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212;<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Six <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> dioceses including the Archdiocese of <span class=\"xn-location\">Los Angeles<\/span>, and the Dioceses of\u00a0Fresno, <span class=\"xn-location\">Orange<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Sacramento<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">San Bernardino<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">San Diego<\/span>, serving 80% of state&#8217;s Catholic population, have committed to the new program, which is independent of Church control; <\/li>\n<li>Nationally known mediators <span class=\"xn-person\">Kenneth Feinberg<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-person\">Camille Biros<\/span> will design and administer the program. An oversight board that includes former Governor <span class=\"xn-person\">Gray Davis<\/span> and business leader and former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, <span class=\"xn-person\">Maria Contreras-Sweet<\/span>, will oversee the implementation and administration of the program; <\/li>\n<li>Later this year, victim-survivors, including undocumented immigrants, can apply for compensation for past abuse, regardless of when that abuse occurred; <\/li>\n<li>Fully completed and documented claims will be determined within 90 days of a victimsurvivor filing a claim.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"PRN_ImbeddedAssetReference\" id=\"DivAssetPlaceHolder3864\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/886985\/Law_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_FAQs.pdf?p=original\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/886985\/Law_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_FAQs.pdf?p=pdfthumbnail\" title=\"\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Catholic bishops in <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> today announced the establishment of a new compensation program that will be available to any person who has been sexually abused as a minor by diocesan priests of the participating dioceses, no matter when that abuse might have occurred.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>The new Independent Compensation Program for Victim-Survivors of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests is independent from Church control. <span class=\"xn-person\">Kenneth R. Feinberg<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-person\">Camille S. Biros<\/span>, nationally known mediators and private compensation program administrators, have been working with the <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> bishops since last November to design and administer the program.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>The program will be overseen by an independent oversight board that includes former Governor <span class=\"xn-person\">Gray Davis<\/span> and business leader and former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, <span class=\"xn-person\">Maria Contreras-Sweet<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Feinberg and Biros are running similar abuse compensation programs covering Catholic dioceses in <span class=\"xn-location\">New York<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Pennsylvania<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">New Jersey<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">Colorado<\/span>. <\/p>\n<p>The <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> program announced today will include the Archdiocese of <span class=\"xn-location\">Los Angeles<\/span> and the Dioceses of <span class=\"xn-location\">Sacramento<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">San Bernardino<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">San Diego<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Orange<\/span>, and <span class=\"xn-location\">Fresno<\/span>. Together, these dioceses comprise more than 10 million Catholics, or about 80 percent of the state&#8217;s Catholic population.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>A program website is being finalized and there will be a forthcoming announcement by Feinberg and Biros on the program launch. A draft Protocol and Frequently Asked Questions are available.\u00a0 They will be finalized prior to the program launch. <\/p>\n<p>This new program is voluntary. Victim-survivors can elect to enter this program as an alternative to pursuing their claims against the Church in court.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Feinberg and Biros will have complete autonomy to determine the eligibility of individual claims and they alone will determine the amount of compensation offered to any victim. The dioceses have agreed to abide by Feinberg and Biros&#8217; decisions and the amounts of the compensation awards are not subject to appeal by the dioceses.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>The six dioceses will be reaching out to victims who have previously reported allegations of abuse to alert them to this new program. In addition, the program will invite others who may have been abused to also come forward.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Because the bishops are committed to providing avenues for all victims, this new program is open to a broader range than are eligible to pursue claims in civil courts. Those harmed many years ago and barred from filing lawsuits because of civil statutes of limitations will be eligible to make claims under this new program. Also, because this program has no proof-of-citizenship requirement, undocumented immigrants who may have been abused are also eligible to make claims.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Unlike civil litigation in the courts, this new program provides a process that is non-adversarial and protects victims&#8217; privacy. Victim-survivors do not need to have a lawyer to participate and there are no fees for participating.\u00a0 Settlements for fully completed claims can be paid within 90 days. <\/p>\n<p>The new independent program is an important initiative in the <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> bishops&#8217; continuing commitment to provide pastoral care and financial support to victim-survivors of sexual abuse of minors by priests. <\/p>\n<p>In the past two decades, Catholic dioceses in <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> have worked to provide assistance to abuse survivors, offering counseling and other support, while also paying close to <span class=\"xn-money\">$1.5 billion<\/span> to thousands of survivors in an effort to acknowledge responsibility for the grave offenses committed by priests and to compensate victims for their pain and suffering.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Catholic dioceses have also put in place strict policies and programs to protect young people and to create safe environments in parishes, schools and other ministries. Hundreds of thousands of adults throughout the state have been trained in abuse prevention and reporting. Hundreds of thousands more in leadership positions have been fingerprinted and undergone background checks. Dioceses have implemented strict reporting requirements, working closely with local law enforcement officials to immediately report abuse allegations and remove accused perpetrators from ministry.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>As a result, new cases of sexual misconduct by priests involving minors are rare today in the Catholic Church in California.\u00a0 Nonetheless, the Bishops undertake this program in their continued efforts to provide avenues for victim-survivors of abuse to receive assistance to continue their healing. <\/p>\n<p>Attachments:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Independent Compensation Program for Victim-Survivors of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests \u2014 Frequently Asked Questions <\/li>\n<li>Protocol\u00a0(Draft)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" border=\"0\" class=\"prntblns\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Diocesan Contacts: <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen3\"><\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen3\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Archdiocese of Los Angeles\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Adrian Marquez Alacron <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">(213) 637-7216 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Diocese of Fresno \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Teresa Dominguez \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">(559) 488-7400 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Diocese of Orange \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Tracey Kincaid \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">(714) 282-3075 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Diocese of Sacramento \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Kevin Eckery\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">(916) 443-2528 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Diocese of San Bernardino\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">John Andrews\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">(909) 475-5420 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Diocese of San Diego\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Aida Bustos \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">(619) 850-1384 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Spanish Language Contact \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">Christina Sanchez \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"prngen2\">\n<p class=\"prnews_p\"><span class=\"prnews_span\">(310) 420-1135 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Contact:\u00a0 <br \/><span class=\"xn-person\">Amy Weiss<\/span> 202-203-0448<br \/><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"mailto:amy@weisspublicaffairs.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">amy@weisspublicaffairs.com<\/a><br \/>for\u00a0 <br \/><span class=\"xn-person\">Kenneth Feinberg<\/span> &amp; <span class=\"xn-person\">Camille Biros<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Steve Pehanich\u00a0<br \/>California Catholic Conference<br \/><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"mailto:spehanich@cacatholic.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">spehanich@cacatholic.org<\/a><br \/>(916) 313-4014 <\/p>\n<div class=\"PRN_ImbeddedAssetReference\" id=\"DivAssetPlaceHolder8019\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/886986\/Law_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_Protocol.pdf?p=original\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/886986\/Law_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_Protocol.pdf?p=pdfthumbnail\" title=\"\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>PDF &#8211; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=2466502-1&amp;h=3070304465&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F886985%2FLaw_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_FAQs.pdf&amp;a=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F886985%2FLaw_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_FAQs.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/886985\/Law_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_FAQs.pdf<\/a> <br \/>PDF &#8211; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=2466502-1&amp;h=3855437239&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F886986%2FLaw_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_Protocol.pdf&amp;a=https%3A%2F%2Fmma.prnewswire.com%2Fmedia%2F886986%2FLaw_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_Protocol.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/886986\/Law_Offices_of_Kenneth_R_Feinberg_Protocol.pdf<\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"PRN_ImbeddedAssetReference\" id=\"DivAssetPlaceHolder0\">\n<\/div>\n<p>SOURCE  Law Offices of <span class=\"xn-person\">Kenneth R. Feinberg<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">SACRAMENTO, Calif.<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-chron\">May 14, 2019<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212;<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Six <span class=\"xn-location\">California<\/span> dioceses including the Archdiocese of <span class=\"xn-location\">Los Angeles<\/span>, and the Dioceses of\u00a0Fresno, <span class=\"xn-location\">Orange<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Sacramento<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">San Bernardino<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">San Diego<\/span>, serving 80% of state&#8217;s Catholic population, have committed to the new&#8230;<br \/>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68940\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}