Chicago Archdiocese reaches 9 new settlements totaling more than $5M in priest child sex abuse cases

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Attorneys with the law firm Pearlman & Anderson announced nine new settlements with the Archdiocese of Chicago over the past two weeks involving allegations of child sexual abuse by priests dating back decades.

The settlements total more than $5 million and involve eight Catholic priests, all of whom are deceased. According to the attorneys, the alleged abuse occurred while the priests served at schools and parishes in Chicago, Homewood, Chicago Ridge, Chicago Heights, Wilmette and Morton Grove.

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Attorney Marc Pearlman said the value of the settlements reflects recognition of the survivors' claims.

"The number represents validation. Nobody is paying that kind of money for something that didn't happen," Pearlman said.

The attorneys said some of the priests involved already appear on the Archdiocese of Chicago's list of clergy members against whom credible accusations of sexual abuse have been made, while others do not.

Attorney Melissa Anderson said survivors who come forward can help bring attention to cases involving priests who are not publicly identified.

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"Although they don't appear today on a list, once upon a time nobody appeared on a list. And so it's through this work we are able to ensure, and our survivors coming forward and being able to stand up and name a priest who they don't see listed anywhere, that's how change is made," Anderson said.

Mike Shereck is a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest but was not part of the most recent round of settlements. Shereck said participating in his own process helped him recover from years of alcohol and drug abuse.

"I realized I survived. I realized that was a huge gift. I realized what I was angry about was not so much what happened but how I dealt with it. And now I'm dealing with it in another way. And I was no longer angry," Shereck said.

According to the law firm's own figures, since 2001, the Archdiocese of Chicago has settled around 300 cases involving the sexual abuse of minors, involving 100 alleged perpetrators.

The Archdiocese said in a statement,

"The Archdiocese of Chicago policies have been in place since 1992 and have served as the model for the U.S. and global policies of the Catholic Church.

"We are glad to hear Mr. Shereck found our process to be healing.

"We have published a list of clergy with substantiated allegations of abuse against them on our website for 20 years - since 2006.

"The 'new' settlements presented today arose from incidents alleged to have occurred 30 to 50 years ago.

"This timeframe is consistent with the large majority of claims coming forward today. We have paid more than $400 million to survivors and continue to ask for survivors to come forward. They will be received with dignity and compassion.

"What has been notable in the past two years is an avalanche of new claims due to venture capital funding of law firms. Unfortunately, as we have seen from our experience, these include more false claims, as we reference in our RICO lawsuit. The filing of false claims is, in the long run, a disservice to true survivors. When we become aware a claim is false, we deal with it accordingly."