Archdiocese of Milwaukee case:

Peter Isely, Midwest director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, saw the California settlements as a way to avoid having retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland have to reveal more details about his actions and those of other church officials in depositions or courtroom testimony if the cases had gone to trial.

"Courts in Wisconsin are helping the bishops of Wisconsin to completely evade their liability and responsibility for the rape of children in our state," Isely said.

In the case that was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Eric Paino alleged that Widera molested him in California in 1985, when Paino was 8 years old. Widera, who later left the priesthood, committed suicide in 2003 by jumping from the balcony of a Mexican hotel as police were closing in on him after an extensive manhunt.

Widera had been on the run for nearly a year. He was facing four counts of enticing a child and five counts of indecent behavior with a child in Wisconsin’s Walworth County. And in California’s Orange County, prosecutors had issued a warrant for his arrest on 33 felony counts of child molestation.

Widera served in four parishes in the archdiocese here in the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, while an associate pastor at a Port Washington church, he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Fredonia and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

More on Widera at the Bishop Accountability Website  – and just ponder that for a moment. Convicted in 1973 of molestation…allowed to continue in "ministry."

The Archdiocesan website has more specifics on the settlement:

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has reached resolution with all 10 victims/survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California. The global agreement, which will pay the 10 victims/survivors $16.65 million, resulted from a two-day court-ordered mediation. Under the agreement, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee will pay $8.25 million – approximately half the amount – with the remainder being paid by insurance.

The archdiocese’s financial responsibility will be fulfilled through current financial holdings, including properties owned by the archdiocese and the liquidation of some short- and long-term investments. Included in this will be the proceeds from the sale of the Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center, which were initially intended to benefit Saint Francis Seminary and the future formation of men preparing for priesthood, and other property that had been designated for future pastoral, educational or charitable ministries of the Church. This agreement will not affect any parish property. Archdiocesan officials are currently structuring how the payment will be made.

Thanks to Terrence Berres, proprieter of the excellent and pithy Provincial Emails blog for pointing this out.