Settlement approved for New Orleans Archdiocese to pay hundreds of clergy abuse victims

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Archdiocese will pay at least $230 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement approved Monday by a federal judge after years of negotiations.

Richard Trahant, an attorney representing victims in the case, and a spokesperson for the archdiocese both confirmed the approval of the settlement to The Associated Press on Monday.

Earlier this month, some of the survivors behind the more than 500 abuse claims testified in court, sharing painful memories that continued to affect them lives decades later.

Some recalled battling substance abuse, struggling with intimacy and wondering whether they themselves were to blame for what happened. Some said they forgave the church, others said they could not.

___

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.