CAMDEN – For nearly 30 years, the Diocese of Camden has been committed to providing professional counseling to the survivors of child sexual abuse to assist in the healing process and, where it has been requested, to the survivors’ parents, spouses and children.
According to a release, thus far, the diocese has expended nearly $1 million in providing such therapeutic assistance. In addition, to offer a measure of justice to the survivors of clerical abuse, the Diocese of Camden paid financial settlements, totaling $10,270,000, from 1990 until last year.
In June of last year, along with the Archdiocese of Newark and the other Catholic dioceses in New Jersey, the Diocese of Camden agreed to participate in the Independent Victim Compensation Program (IVCP) to supplement its prior efforts. Thus far, the Diocese has paid $7,577,500 in awards determined by the IVCP.
However, the diocese sustained a precipitous decline in revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is fast approaching a point where it will not be able to continue to borrow the funds necessary to pay the amounts awarded by the program. As a result, the diocese has advised the IVCP administrators that it is necessary to suspend its participation in the program.
Although awards already made by the IVCP administrators will be paid, the diocese is instituting a moratorium on further determinations or awards. These steps are necessary in order to maintain the critical programs that the Diocese of Camden continues to provide for the communities it serves, which, now, more than ever, are so essential.
