Catholic Church pays out £325m over abuse

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The Roman Catholic Church in America is bracing itself for a series of damning revelations after the Los Angeles archdiocese agreed a record payment over sex abuse.

The church in the city has reached a deal worth £325 million with more than 500 victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests.

This dwarfs the previous highest payout of £60 million by a Roman Catholic diocese since the clergy sexual-abuse scandal erupted in Boston in 2002.

It takes to more than £1 billion the total paid out by the Catholic church in America since 1950, with LA paying about one quarter of that.

Leading lawyer for the alleged victims in the city, Ray Boucher, said the settlement also calls for the release of confidential files on priests which could reveal how the church covered up abuse.

"Transparency is a critical part of this and of all resolutions," he said.

Had the case gone to trial, lawyers planned to put Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, in the uncomfortable position of testifying about his church's response to abuses dating from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Steven Sanchez, a plaintiff in the case, said he was both relieved and disappointed by the outcome which will see victims receiving more than £600,000 each.

"I was really ready to take on the archdiocese in court in less than 48 hours but I'm glad all victims are going to be compensated," he said.

"I hope all victims will find some type of healing in this process."

In a recent letter to parishioners, Cardinal Mahony said the church would be selling an administrative building and was considering the sale of about 50 other properties to raise funds for settlement.

Since 2002 nearly 1,000 people have filed similar abuse claims against the church in California alone.

A report commissioned by the church in February 2004 said more than 4,000 Roman Catholic priests in the U.S. had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years.

Several religious orders in California have also reached multimillion-dollar settlements in recent months, including the Carmelites, the Franciscans and the Jesuits.