The Roman Catholic Church has been ordered to pay $104 million in compensation to 292 survivors of historical abuse in Newfoundland and Labrador, including those at the now-infamous Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
An insolvency monitor’s report released today says the Archdiocese of St. John’s’ individual claims range from $55,000 to $850,000.
The Ernst and Young report says the average award is about $356,000.
Lawyer Geoff Budden, whose firm represents more than 200 survivors of abuse at the former Mount Cashel orphanage, which was run by the Christian Brotherhood between the 1940s and early 1960s, said Friday’s order was an important step but the decades-long fight was not over.
He adds that the archdiocese has raised only about $40 million to fund the settlement through the sale of properties in eastern Newfoundland, including the landmark St. John the Baptist Cathedral Basilica in St. John’s.
Me Budden said he will argue that the archdiocese can find more money through its insurance policies and even by appealing to some of its co-defendants in the decades of clergy abuse cases that have led the church to its current bankrupt state.
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