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Church Abuse Settlement Talks Hit Snag

Posted on: Friday, 5 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

A highly anticipated negotiation session this weekend between the archbishop of Boston and alleged victims of priest sexual abuse was called off Friday after lawyers representing hundreds of the plaintiffs pulled out.

Attorney Roderick MacLeish Jr. said lawyers with his firm, Greenberg Traurig, withdrew from the session planned for Saturday because of an anticipated "circuslike atmosphere."

A spokesman for the Boston Archdiocese said the session had been postponed until further notice.

"While we are disappointed that the session will not take place, we remain committed to continuing the settlement talks in the near future so as to reach a fair, equitable and just resolution to these matters," the Rev. Christopher Coyne said in a statement.

MacLeish said his firm's lawyers had been told that at least one other lawyer for victims had planned to hold periodic updates for the media during the day, something he said would compromise the mediation process.

Newly installed Archbishop Sean O'Malley had agreed to meet with 10 victims during the negotiating session, aimed at settling 550 lawsuits against the archdiocese. The planned meeting had been heralded as a significant step toward settling the cases and closing a chapter in a scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church.

Greenberg Traurig, which represents 260 of the 550 alleged victims, did not want the session conducted "in a manner where we cannot speak candidly about what is on our minds without fear that various individuals are going to hold press conferences about what we've said," MacLeish said.

"We're bitterly disappointed that we have to do this, and we apologize to the archbishop, but we have no choice." MacLeish added that the decision had nothing to do with how the negotiations are going.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents about 130 alleged victims, had agreed to make some of his clients available to speak to the media during breaks in the meeting. MacLeish would not say whether Garabedian's plans were what led his firm to drop out.

In a statement issued Friday evening, Garabedian said, "It is very important that all attorneys in these matters remain professional in order that we not be diverted from the important work of attaining a fair and equitable settlement on behalf of all the victims." He declined further comment.

The lawsuits claim the archdiocese for decades sought to avoid scandal by transferring priests accused of sexual misconduct from parish to parish.

Late last month, sources close to the talks said the archdiocese raised its settlement offer to $65 million from $55 million, while the plaintiffs' lawyers were seeking a settlement of $90 million to $120 million.

MacLeish said that in a letter to the archdiocese's lawyer, Thomas Hannigan Jr., the firm asked that the meeting be rescheduled for another time and at a private location. Although the location of Saturday's session had not been publicly disclosed, word had leaked to reporters who have closely followed the scandal.

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