The IRRP helped.

• A total of 812 individuals came forward to the IRRP and 623 of them submitted formal claims. The Archdiocese paid $78,465,000 to resolve 438 claims fully.  Of the remainder, 144 claims were denied by the administrators; 21 claimants rejected the offer made by the administrators; 15 claimants did not complete the process by the deadline; 3 claims remain pending with the administrators; and 2 claimants withdrew from the process.

The IRRP was responsibly funded.

• The Archdiocese created a comprehensive financial plan to fully satisfy IRRP commitments and help survivors heal, with the help of outside legal and financial experts. The financial plan was conceived from the outset of the program and evolved over time. It called for program funding through the sale of Archdiocesan assets, borrowing, and risk mitigation payments from related ecclesiastical entities.

The IRRP was survivor-centered.

• With input from survivors, the IRRP was designed by two nationally recognized claims administration experts, Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros. It was established to help survivors in a secure, voluntary atmosphere.

• The IRRP’s outreach to survivors, both known and unknown, casted a wide net to ensure equal access to the program and to give survivors the support they needed and deserved. The program was communicated by the Archdiocese, by the IRRP Claims Administrator, through direct emails, and through the public media.

• The IRRP also created a Victim’s Support Facilitator role to support survivors, assist them in submitting claims, and connect them to resources. Serving in that capacity is Lynn Shiner, a highly regarded and experienced in the fields of social work and victim advocacy.

The IRRP was proactive.

• The IRRP represented a compassionate way forward for survivors: it provided the necessary financial and support services to survivors while allowing the ongoing mission and ministry of the Archdiocese and its affiliated entities to continue with financial stability.

• Through the IRRP, the Archdiocese acknowledged the wrongs endured by those who suffered sexual abuse; provided a voluntary and independent process not affiliated with the Archdiocese to submit claims; reviewed claims in a fair and prompt manner; provided prompt payment and support for emotional and pastoral needs; and provided a release against past and future claims once a settlement was accepted.

• The release did not preclude or limit the claimant’s ability to report and discuss allegations of abuse with law enforcement or to share the story of their journey publicly should they wish to do so. It is important to note that any claim filed through the IRRP must also have been reported to law enforcement at some time in order to be processed.