Washington - The Catholic Church in California has agreed to pay out the record sum of 660 million dollars to the victims of sexual abuse, the biggest pay-out by far in any abuse case involving the church worldwide, news reports said Sunday. The archdiocese of Los Angeles has settled out of court with 508 claimants, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Part of the agreement was the release to the public of personal files concerning abusing priests.
"Some of the victims have waited more than five decades for a chance at reconciliation and resolution," Raymond Boucher, the chief lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the newspaper.
"This is a down payment on that debt long overdue," he said.
The lawyer for the church, J Michael Hennigan, said that the work of the church would be "impacted" by the huge pay-out, "but not crippled."
The diocese would also not have to sell any assets, Hennigan said.
The settlement came ahead of the scheduled start of court proceedings Monday and ended all pending abuse cases against the largest diocese in the United States.
