Insurer for Norwich, Conn. Diocese Settles Another Abuse Case

October 30, 2007

  • October 30, 2007 at 9:39 am
    James Fish says:
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    I’m glad that you never had to suffer the humilation of sexual abuse at the age of 13. I don’t consider myself a loser. Obviously you don’t know me. I have managed to sustain a long marriage with four children despite the fact that a pervert priest invaded my childhood. My mother inadvertly told her parish priest.He was required by law to report it. I had no intention of seeing a lawyer until a representative of the diocese told me that I could be sued by the priest. I went to a lawyer to protect by home and family. The Catholic Church is Big Business! Not a religion..but as much a business as WalMart, that’s for sure.

  • October 30, 2007 at 2:53 am
    Dean says:
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    Being Catholic, I agree that those involved in this scandal need to be disciplined and that the church needs to take significant, and immediate steps to prevent future incidents. Having said that, will someone please tell me how $170,000 (less attorney fees) is going to help fix the alleged irreparable damage done to this 47 year old loser’s psyche? I find it incredulous that all of these alleged victims came forward only after there was money involved and it became vogue. I find it strange that not one of them had the courage to make a claim/allegation until 20 or 30 years passed. I think the church has gotten the message it has an issue. I don’t believe that Catholics have a corner on the abuse market either. Wonder why no other religions are “piling on”?

  • October 30, 2007 at 2:57 am
    lastbat says:
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    The Mormons will eventually, but the Catholics are pretty much the only ones rich enough worth suing.

    I too find it odd these claims come out of the woodwork after the alleged offenders are either dead (usually) or so far into retirement they might as well be. And how faithful is that memory after those many decades? And was hypno-therapy used? And I know this sounds callous, but if you’ve lived with it for so many years, you can live with it some more. Justice is swift – that’s one of the good things about it. Justice that isn’t swift isn’t justice – it’s revenge.

  • October 30, 2007 at 3:00 am
    Ohioan says:
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    I’ll say “amen” to that.

  • October 31, 2007 at 8:52 am
    Alice says:
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    James, you are indeed a “fish”. Whining about a childhood event after being blessed with a wife and family is sinful. You’re an adult and still reliving the “humiliation” you experienced as a 13 year old? You seem to have let this event define your existence and that is a decision YOU CHOSE to make. Many people suffered some sort of traumatic event during their childhood. Somehow, they found a way to overcome it and focus on the future, not the past. I can’t recall a priest ever filing suit against anyone. In many of these cases, even when the priest feels unjustly accused, he won’t sue because it runs counter to what’s right. These lawsuits are all “late hits”, or “piling on” and they are very much about the money. If the alleged victims were sincere about using their experiences to prevent future incidents, they wouldn’t be suing for monetary damages.

  • October 31, 2007 at 11:43 am
    lastbat says:
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    Very true. The whole “sue them before they sue me” bit doesn’t really cut it. I can see consulting a lawyer for protection, but you don’t need to sue for monetary damages to protect yourself from a libel suit. Suing decades after the event is just not right.

  • October 31, 2007 at 2:31 am
    Dustin says:
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    Don’t really see where James Fish was whining, simply defending that he is not a loser. Thanfully I have not had the trauma of molestation, but I imagine it is something that stays with you for quite a while. Granted, there are people all over who have it rough. Shouldn’t jump all over James because of that, though. It is sad that these people are coming out of the “wood work” to possibly make a bogus claim; however, I hope that doesn’t make people take the true cases and dismiss them. In the end, these perverts need to be dealt with justly.

  • November 1, 2007 at 10:24 am
    Dave says:
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    If sexual abuse was a “pattern of behavior” for some priests, the real desired outcome of bringing the problem to the forefront should be to PREVENT future ocurrences. Filing a lawsuit for monetary damages seems to be a bastardization of the intent. You don’t see anyone filing suit against an abusive parent. A suit could contain a demand for injunctive relieve that would include a formal commitment from the church to deliver a strategy and action plan to address the existing problem, an action plan to prevent future problems, and discipline the offenders by removing them as priests. Why does money always have to change hands? If the alleged “injury” is psychological and the alleged victims have been harboring it for decades, no amount of money is going to change that. A monetary fund for counseling is a more appropriate award. The “money” angle just sounds sleazy. People shouldn’t profit from things like this.



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