Archdiocese of San Francisco agrees to $21-million settlement with abuse victims

The Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to a $21-million settlement with 15 people who said they were sexually abused by priests in the 1960s and 1970s.

According to a report by Knight Ridder Newspapers, the settlement includes 10 victims of the late Fr. Joseph Pritchard, pastor at St. Martin of Tours parish in San Jose during the 1970s. At that time, San Jose was located within the diocese of San Francisco. The Diocese of San Jose was only created in 1981.

More than two-thirds of the settlement will come from insurance policies, and the archdiocese said none of the money would come from parish or school funds. The settlement works out to an average of $1.4 million per plaintiff.

There are still more than 100 claims against the archdiocese, including 10 more claims involving Pritchard.

In a statement, Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco again expressed his sincere apologies to the abuse victims and said he hoped the settlement would "facilitate the process of healing for these victims" and set the standard for settling remaining cases.

All sides were reportedly pleased with the settlement.

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