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CHICAGO \u2014 The Archdiocese of Chicago said it has paid out more than $400 million to abuse survivors, with the announcement coming on the heels of a St. Paul, Minnesota-based firm\u2019s recent settlement announcement that also unveiled a national database of clergy it says are credibly abused of sexual abuse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Attorney Jeff Anderson of Jeff Anderson and Associates said the latest $5.475 million in settlements, involving nine cases, were finalized in the two weeks ahead of his firm\u2019s Sept. 10 announcement.<\/p>\n In a statement sent on the same day to OSV News, the Archdiocese of Chicago (for the first time) disclosed a figure related to its settlements.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d said the archdiocese.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018new\u2019 settlements presented today arose from incidents alleged to have occurred 50 to 30 years ago. This timeframe is consistent with the large majority of claims coming forward today,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n During the news conference in Chicago, attorneys from Jeff Anderson and Associates and Pearlman and Anderson highlighted close to 300 settlements in the history of their work in the Chicago Archdiocese<\/a>. Marc Pearlman whose lawfirm works with Anderson\u2019s to represent sexual abuse survivors, said the settlement figures represent validation for his clients.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody\u2019s paying that kind of money for something that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is validation that it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Shereck, a survivor client of Jeff Anderson and Associates, who was not part of the most recent settlement, told reporters that for him, no longer being angry was \u201cthe greatest gift of all \u2026 far beyond any financial settlement,\u201d after filing a complaint.<\/p>\n He explained, \u201cYou\u2019re dealing with it emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and legally, right? And so what happens is you go through the process. That\u2019s the part of healing. Healing hurts sometimes. But as you go through it, you start realizing what it is. I realized I survived.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff Anderson and Associates also unveiled what it called a national database of priests and clergy who have been credibly accused, located on its website, that survivors from around the country can look up.<\/p>\n \u201cThis allows survivors to come to our site who may have forgotten information, who they were abused by, when they were abused, where they were abused,\u201d said Ian McIntyre, the firm\u2019s senior communications coordinator who created the site.<\/p>\n While the archdiocese has encouraged survivors to step forward with claims, it also reiterated that in the past two years it has received \u201can avalanche of new claims due to venture capital funding of law firms.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, as we have seen from our experience, these include more false claims, as we reference in our RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) lawsuit,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n In June, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago announced the archdiocese\u2019s countersuit against false claimants could go forward. The archdiocese discovered a prison- and jail-based scheme involving a network of at least 30 people who allegedly made or attempted to make false claims of abuse.<\/p>\n \u201cThe filing of false claims is, in the long run, a disservice to true survivors,\u201d said the archdiocese.<\/p>\n The archdiocese\u2019s statement said it welcomed the news that Mike Shereck found healing. It said the policies the archdiocese put in place around abuse since 1992 \u201chave served as the model for the U.S. and global policies of the Catholic Church.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>