L A Catholics to pay $60 mln on sex-abuse claims

LOS ANGELES, Dec 1 (Reuters) The Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese, the largest in the United States, today said it will pay 60 million dollars to settle 45 of the more than 500 claims against it claiming sexual abuse by its priests.

''I pray that the settlement of the initial group of cases will help the victims involved to move forward with their lives and to build a brighter future for themselves and their families,'' Cardinal Roger Mahony said in a statement.

Although the settlement covers a relatively small portion of the total number against the archdiocese, it is the first sex abuse settlement Mahony has approved in Los Angeles.

Mahony told the Los Angeles Times it marked ''a major effort at healing and reconciliation,'' and said he offered personal apologies to victims in meetings that took place this fall.

The archdiocese will pay about 40 million dollars of the total cost, with insurance companies and religious orders paying the remainder, according to the archdiocese statement.

The Roman Catholic Church in the United States has been hit with numerous lawsuits and claims in recent years alleging sex abuse by its priests.

About one week ago, the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum of money with 11 men who claimed they had been abused.

REUTERS SBA BST0303