The Manchester Diocese will pay more than 5 million dollars to 62 people.
The Diocese is paying the money to individuals who claim they were sexually abused as children by clergy.
NHPR's David Darman has more.
The diocese made the settlement 6 weeks after a similar agreement with sixteen other individuals.
Father Edward Arsenault of the Diocese says the church was willing to pay money then and now to keep the cases from being drawn out in court.
05 52 and so with today's announcement of 62 more persons whom we are assisting, I think we've achieved a unique level of cooperation, and, a non confrontational path to healing. 05 104
The diocese and the lawyer for the abuse victims agreed to keep many details of the settlement quiet.
No victim's identities were revealed.
And the parties didn't disclose any individual settlement no individual settlement amounts.
But in total, those claiming abuse by catholic priests settled for much less than the 30 million dollars their lawyer first demanded when he filed suit.
The attorney, Peter Hutchins of Hall, Hess, Stuart, Murphy and Brown of Manchester, said that figure was part of a legal strategy that attorneys typically follow early in a case.
08 41:anytime that you seek security for a potential yet unknown judgement, you try to make sure that you have more, rather than less security, because you don't know what's going to occur. So that's how that number was derived.08 55
The 62 professed victims accused a total of twenty-eight priests of the sexual abuse.
The abuse happened during four decades, beginning in the 1950?s.
Father Edward Arsenault says 9 of these priests are dead.
Arsenault says the Catholic Church is addressing the remaining 19 and making sure none of them will ever be involved in a parish.
10 156 let me be clear. None of these men will exercise any pastoral ministry in this church ever again. And so the canonical process and the details of that that have to be worked out are between them and the bishop. 10 207
Bishop John McCormack sent letters to the abused, and has offered to meet with each person claiming abuse.
The diocese says it will use insurance money and its own savings to help pay for the settlement.
The diocese is not yet out of the woods regarding sexual abuse allegations.
The attorney general's office is investigating whether it can proceed with criminal charges against the Catholic Church.
If the AG's office decides to criminally prosecute the church, it will be the first in the nation to take such action.
In addition to yesterday's settlement and the earlier one last month, a third suit against the Catholic Church is pending.
That suit represents more than 50 other professed victims.
