Last abuse payments by diocese

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Final payments are going out to victims of sexual abuse in an $85 million class-action settlement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington.

The settlement is between the diocese and more than 350 people abused by priests and diocese employees since the 1950s in 57 counties across a large swath of Kentucky.

It calls for victims to receive from $5,000 to $1 million based on the severity and duration of the abuse they suffered. Some money has also been set aside to pay for counseling for abuse victims.

The settlement master in the case approved the final payments last week, said attorney Stan Chesley, who represents the victims in the case.

The payments should be in the hands of the plaintiffs by the end of the month, he said.

A message left with the diocese on Thursday was not immediately returned.

Two abuse victims who now work as advocates for others said the money helps but doesn't heal old wounds caused by sexual abuse and doesn't absolve the church from its responsibility to victims.

"Sadly, settlement alone does not equal recovery," said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, who works as outreach coordinator for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

David Clohessy, national director of SNAP, said the payments do compensate victims, but are also a business decision by the church to "prevent embarrassing trials."

Without the lawsuit, it is unlikely the church would have acknowledged or compensated the victims, he said.

Covington is across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. The diocese now spans 14 counties and has 89,000 parishioners. The lawsuit also covers some Kentucky counties that were part of the diocese until 1988, when a new diocese in Lexington formed.