Insurers to pay $8.5m in abuse case

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Accord reached with diocese

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has reached an $8.5 million settlement with insurance companies to pay claims filed by people who were sexually abused by priests, the diocese announced yesterday.

Mark Dupont, a spokesman for the diocese, said that $3.5 million will be used to pay back the diocese for a portion of the $7.7 million it paid in 2004 to settle sexual abuse claims filed by 47 people.

The remaining $5 million will be used to establish a settlement fund for 61 other victims, Dupont said. The victims are expected to receive amounts ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 after completing an arbitration hearing, said Dupont. Neither the diocese nor the insurance carriers will participate in the arbitration process.

"We're trying to create an environment that is not adversarial, where they are comfortable and where they can tell their story," Dupont said.

Boston.com