Catholic church pays $16 million to 12 men molested in the 1970s

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Closing a major chapter in one of the Bay Area's most notorious cases of clergy sexual abuse, the Roman Catholic church will pay more than $16 million to 12 men who were molested in the 1970s by a popular San Jose priest.

The agreement came as attorneys were preparing for a trial next week, in which one of the men was expected to testify that the late Rev. Joseph Pritchard abused him at St. Martin of Tours parish in San Jose -- and in the rectory of a Los Altos church after Pritchard moved to a new assignment there. More trials were scheduled to follow.

While the settlement works out to an average of $1.3 million for each plaintiff, attorneys said the individual amounts varied and would not be disclosed. It is roughly comparable to a similar agreement reached last month with 10 other plaintiffs who said they also were molested by Pritchard when he was pastor at St. Martin of Tours.

Many testified that the priest's sexual overtures caused lasting emotional damage, drug and alcohol problems, marital stress and other difficulties. And several said they were outraged by the impact on their parents, who had trusted and revered their pastor. ``They got robbed,'' said one 40-year-old man, explaining that his blue-collar parents had scrimped and sacrificed to pay the tuition for St. Martin's school, thinking they were giving their son the best education they could afford.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/12093439.htm



The late Rev. Joseph Pritchard, former pastor of St. Martin of Tours parish in San Jose.

[OKDem08]

1. The new face

of evil.

:evilfrown: