LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 16: David Clohessy (R), National Director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), and Manuel Vega (L), both alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, hug during a press conference outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse where a record $660 million settlement between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and victims of sexual abuse by clergy members was approved by a judge on July 16, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. The proposed settlement plus $114 million in related settlements to which the church has agreed increases the archdiocese's financial liability over $774 million, the biggest payout since the church sex abuse scandal broke in Boston in 2001. The Archdiocese reportedly plans to raise the $660 million through the sale of some of its buildings, insurance payments, investments, and loans and contributions from some of the religious orders. In Boston, the church settled for $157 million, in Portland, Oregon it made a $129 million settlement, and in 2005, the diocese in Orange County, California paid $100 million for sex abuse claims. Five dioceses facing large settlements have filed for bankruptcy protection. Mahony apologized to victims, many who were children when they were sexually abused by clergy in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, after the settlement was announced and acknowledged he made mistakes handling the scandal. Getty Images logo Getty Images 31 months ago

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 16: David Clohessy (R), National Director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), and Manuel Vega (L), both alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, hug during a press conference outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse where a record $660 million settlement between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and victims of sexual abuse by clergy members was approved by a judge on July 16, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. The proposed settlement plus $114 million in related settlements to which the church has agreed increases the archdiocese's financial liability over $774 million, the biggest payout since the church sex abuse scandal broke in Boston in 2001. The Archdiocese reportedly plans to raise the $660 million through the sale of some of its buildings, insurance payments, investments, and loans and contributions from some of the religious orders. In Boston, the church settled for $157 million, in Portland, Oregon it made a $129 million settlement, and in 2005, the diocese in Orange County, California paid $100 million for sex abuse claims. Five dioceses facing large settlements have filed for bankruptcy protection. Mahony apologized to victims, many who were children when they were sexually abused by clergy in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, after the settlement was announced and acknowledged he made mistakes handling the scandal.

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