L.I. Diocese Starts Program To Compensate Sex Abuse Victims

The Diocese of Rockville Centre announced Monday morning that it was creating a program to pay the victims of sexual abuse by clergy in the district.

The Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program (IRCP), as it is known, allows survivors of sexual abuse by priests or deacons of the diocese to seek financial compensation. The diocese says the program is part of an ongoing commitment to protecting children and to promote healing.

"As your Shepherd, I am asking all of us together to take a new and important step in the Church’s Eucharistic Mission of Mercy," said Bishop John Barres, the leader of the diocese. "With this program we are making a major commitment to the ongoing healing of survivors of acts of child sexual abuse committed by clergy."

The IRCP will be administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a mediator who has administered numerous high-profile compensation programs, including the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the Compensation Fund for the victims of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Feinberg and his colleague, Camille Biros, have been administering the IRCPs in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn and have extensive recent experience in this area.

"I have pledged to them that the diocese will respect and honor any decision they make regarding compensation for those who suffered abuse by a member of the clergy of this diocese," Barres said.

The diocese has also established an Independent Oversight Committee to oversee the implementation and administration of the program. This committee consists of the Honorable A. Gail Prudenti, Dean of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and former chief administrative judge of the Courts of New York State; Michael Cardello III, a partner with the law firm of Moritt Hock & Hamroff; and Dr. Thomas Demaria, a New York State psychologist who is the director of the Psychological Services Center of the Doctoral Psychology Program at LIU Post.

During Phase 1 of the program, which begins immediately, Feinberg and Biros will work with people who have previously notified the diocese of abuse perpetrated against them by members of the clergy. Any new and material allegations made in the submission of a Phase I claim by an eligible Phase I claimant will be forwarded to the local district attorney by the diocese, and will be investigated by the diocese’s own independent investigators and reviewed through its internal safeguard and review mechanisms.

Phase II of the program will commence at a later date, most likely next January. Any person wishing to file a new claim alleging sexual abuse not previously reported to the diocese may be eligible to participate in Phase II of the program when it is implemented in early 2018. These reports will be investigated fully prior to a determination by the IRCP.

Any new claim will be handled in accordance with all standing processes and procedures currently in place for new reports of alleged sexual abuse. Individuals who wish to participate in Phase II may immediately register with the administrators on the program’s website. Such information will be maintained in strict confidence in conjunction with Phase II of this program except for the following: allegations will be forwarded to the local district attorney by the diocese, and the diocese will have the matter investigated by its own independent investigators and reviewed through its internal review mechanisms.

"We as a Church recognize that no amount of monetary compensation could ever erase or undo the grave harm suffered by survivors of child abuse," Barres said. "Still, we embrace Christ’s healing power and the Mission of Mercy of the Catholic Church as we begin our Independent Reconciliation and Compensation program. We stand in solidarity with our survivors and their families and we continue our commitment and vigilance to the protection of children in our Church and in society."

For more information about the IRCP, visit the program's website.

Photo: Patch