San Francisco Archdiocese Settles for $21 Million

ASSOCIATED PRESS, July 10 — The Archdiocese of San Francisco has settled 15 of 60 pending priest sexual abuse claims for a total $21.2 million, Associated Press reported.

The archdiocese will pay $6.6 million of the total. The remainder will come from the archdiocese's insurers.

“It is our hope that the settlement of these cases will facilitate the process of healing,” said San Francisco Archbishop William Levada.

All 15 claims were filed in court as a result of the 2001 state law that extended the statute of limitations holding the Church responsible for incidents that occurred in the past. Confidentiality rules prohibit revealing how much the 11 men and four women received from the settlement.

Federal Boy Scout Funding Nixed

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, July 8 — A Chicago federal judge has issued an injunction barring the Pentagon from spending $8 million on a summer Boy Scout jamboree attended by thousands.

The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and two religious leaders who argued that public money should not be used for a group that excludes those who do not take an oath to God.

“We think government should be neutral,” said ACLU spokesman Edwin Yohnka. “It shouldn't entangle itself in favoring people who practice a particular religion in its funding schemes and its support.”

The lawsuit dates back to a 1999 claim that was partially resolved when the Department of Defense agreed to discontinue its Boy Scout funding.

Chicago Public Schools Lease Catholic Classrooms

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, July 10 — Students in seven overcrowded public Chicago schools will be taking classes in three Catholic buildings when school starts in the fall, according to the Chicago daily.

The Chicago Public School District is leasing three buildings, which can hold approximately 930 students.

The school district plans to use Good Shepherd School, St. Bride's School and St. Camillus School to relieve overcrowding.

N.Y. Bishops Urge Governor to Veto Bill

ALBANY TIMES UNION, July 12 — New York's eight bishops recently urged Gov. George Pataki to veto a bill that would let women and girls get the “morning after” contraceptive pill without a prescription, said the Albany, N.Y. daily.

The bishops, in a July 6 letter, said that emergency contraception can cause an abortion because it can work to prevent an embryo from being implanted in the uterus.

“It is difficult to imagine why anyone would support restricting parental rights and potentially exposing young girls to harmful and powerful medications on a repeated basis in this way,” the bishops wrote.

Pataki's spokesman, Andrew Rush, said that the bishops’ letter would be taken into consideration. Once Pataki, a Catholic, receives the bill, he would have 10 days to sign it, veto it or take no action, in which case it would automatically become law.