Haiti relief less than Katrina, 9/11 and Diocese of Vermont to pay $17.6M to sex-abuse victims

This is talking about how Four months after an earthquake devastated Haiti, Americans have donated $1.3 billion for disaster relief there, almost on a par with theirgiving after the Asian tsunami in 2004, according to a tally by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
Four months after the tsunami struck Asia, Americans had given $1.5 billion, according to figures tracked by the center. Lower giving for Haiti could be the result of the recent recession, says Una Osili, director of research.The pace for Haiti relief donations trails that of giving by Americans after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.More than half the total for Haiti has been raised by the American Red Cross, which has collected $444 million, and Catholic Relief Services, nearly $136 million, according to a list of relief agencies compiled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.mmediate needs in Haiti are so great that relief organizations are spending faster than they initially expected.Members of a coalition of aid organizations called InterAction, which include the American Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Save the Children, have planned to split their funds almost equally between immediate relief and long-term reconstruction in Haiti, InterAction President Sam Worthington says. Now, aid groups may have to choose between meeting immediate needs and rebuilding the country later. This can use less information.

Also this is talking about The payout, announced Thursday by the diocese, will settle 26 lawsuits. The altar boys served in the 1970s."Our clients are very happy to have an opportunity to close this chapter of their lives," said Jerome O'Neill, lead attorney for the victims. "All of them know that nothing goes away, nothing changes. They will live with this for the rest of their lives."Bishop Salvatore Matano, speaking at the diocesan headquarters, which was put up for sale to help pay the settlements, said the diocese agreed to the deal as a way to end the pain the scandal has caused for both the victims and the Catholic Church."These unfortunate incidents crippled the life of the church," he said. "It seriously impacted (the church's) mission. Now it is my task to rejuvenate that mission."Matano — who joined the statewide diocese in 2005, inheriting the lawsuits when he arrived — said he deeply regretted the abuse the victims had endured. "I apologize most sincerely for the pain the victims have suffered," he said. "I ask for all of our faithful to pray for our wounded brothers and sisters."Matano said no church programs will be affected by settlement cost. He said sale of the diocesan headquarters and a sprawling church camp complex in Colchester will help pay off a loan the diocese obtained to pay the settlement.FAITH & REASON: Pope calls for justice, repentanceMost of the cases covered by the settlement centered on Edward Paquette and his time as a parish priest in Rutland, Montpelier and Burlington between 1972 and 1978.
Paquette was suspended in 1978.The diocese did not dispute the abuse, but claimed it had been advised by church psychiatrists that Paquette had been cured of what was identified as "homosexuality" at the time. Church documents displayed during the trials showed that the diocese hired Paquette in 1972 even though he had molested boys at parishes in Massachusetts and Indiana.Paquette, who lives in Westfield, Mass., and was officially defrocked by the Vatican in 2009, told The Burlington Free Press last year he regretted his conduct."If what I know now I knew back then, all of this would have been avoided," he said. "But I was blinded. It's hard to explain why I did it. I don't know."In addition to the 26 cases settled Thursday, the diocese also agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to settle three other abuse cases. Those cases were on appeal before the Vermont Supreme Court. The diocese said the settlements would remain confidential.O'Neill said his clients who are party to the mass settlement — 25 men and one woman — took a courageous stand in pursuing their cases."They have mixed feelings about the settlement," he said. "A few are frustrated that they will not get the chance to present their case to a jury."The settlement was hammered out during the past three months in closed-door mediation sessions between O'Neill's firm and lawyers for the diocese, O'Neill said.