Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre has reached settlement with survivors, SNAP weighs in
For Immediate Release: January 18, 2025
After four years of bankruptcy proceedings, the Diocese of Rockville Centre has agreed to settle the claims brought by 600 survivors of child sexual for approximately $323 million. Payments should begin later this year. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, hopes that this process will bring some measure of healing to those who will receive compensation for the life-altering crimes they experienced.
PJ D'Amico, who is among those scheduled to receive restitution, noted the Diocese’s agreement to settle was " more like 'uncle' than 'do the right thing.'" Sadly, we cannot help but agree. As attorney Jeff Anderson observed, “Some survivors waiting on a settlement died before the case was resolved.”
In addition, there are many victims who have not come forward, and now will never be able to do so. One of the downsides of bankruptcy is that survivors who either do not remember their abuse or who are not ready to come forward by the bankruptcy bar date, but whose ordeals occurred before the bankruptcy was filed, are forever barred from filing a civil claim for damages.
Of course, this is one of the attractions for Catholic Dioceses facing countless claims from those who were harmed because Church officials chose to protect predators instead of children. We hope that someday the federal law will be amended to ban this tactic being used by those who enable child sexual abuse.
However, as PJ's lawyer, Adam Horowitz, noted, the Diocese will have to publicly disclose the identities and personnel files of all known abusers. Hiding predators is a downside of bankruptcy, but because of the hard work of survivor attorneys like Adam and Jeff, it has been avoided in Rockville Centre. We know that Long Island SNAP Leader Janet Klinger, who fought for years for the release of a list of accused priests in Rockville Centre, but without success, is delighted that this information will not be concealed.
Regrettably, in other Catholic bankruptcies this has not been the case. Hiding information about perpetrators may help to protect the reputation of a religious group. However, it does nothing to protect today’s children, or to help survivors of abuse, or the families of victims who have committed suicide, find the answers they need to heal. Again, we hope that someday the federal law will be amended to make sure that this is always the case in these types of bankruptcies.
Finally, it is important to note that, while the settlement is justly deserved by those who have suffered decades in silence, no amount of money can make up for the lifetime of trauma that they have endured. As New York SNAP Leader Mary McKenna observes, “The Diocese of Rockville Centre got off easy!!!”
CONTACT: Mary McKenna, SNAP NY ([email protected], 917-805-4180), Janet Klinger, SNAP NY ([email protected], 516-749-3798), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)