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More than 100 people who say they experienced sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Maine have reached a settlement with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Maine.
About half the settlements were reached in the fall, with the remaining reached in the spring, attorney Michael Bigos said. The terms were recently settled and the process is coming to a close as payments start, Bigos said.
The settlement is seven figures, Bigos said.
“We were able to get the settlement for all survivors who waited decades for change to see and accomplish compensation for the harm that was caused to them,” he said.
The settlements come more than a year after Maine’s highest court struck down a 2021 state law that retroactively removed the statute of limitations for lawsuits about sexual abuse, as many people who claimed to have been abused could not pursue legal action. The inciting lawsuit was brought by Robert Dupuis, who was allegedly sexually abused by a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Old Town in the 1960s.
Some people are relieved the process is over, while others are angry that people were not held criminally responsible for their actions, Bigos said.
“These survivors are ready for this process to end,” Bigos said. “Everybody wants to see improvement with the way abuse is handled, transparency and ensuring the safety of future generations.”
While there was no legal standing for some of the cases to continue, there was still harm caused by the sexual abuse, Bishop James Ruggieri wrote in a statement. The financial settlement “is intended to acknowledge, in a tangible way, consistent with our resources and obligations, the seriousness of what has been reported and the lasting impact of abuse.”
No funds from the church’s Catholic Appeal, a fundraiser, are being used, the bishop said.
Bringing the claims against the diocese is a “legal tightrope walk” and difficult for both sides, Bigos said. Every claim was different and the effects of every claim are different for everyone.
Timothy Guidry didn’t remember his alleged abuse for years, until one day when it all started to come out, his wife, Casey Guidry, said in a statement. The childhood abuse Timothy Guidry said he experienced led him into substance use disorder and homelessness, his wife said.
“I cannot change what happened to my husband as a young boy,” Casey Guidry said. “But I can show the man he became that he is so much more than what was done to him. I can tell every single survivor out there that you are more than what was done to you.”
The settlements were the work of four law firms, attorney Timothy Kenlan said. His firm represented seven people who could have proceeded with civil lawsuits but chose not to.
Keith Amato was 6 years old when he claims he was sexually abused by a priest at the St. Bruno Parish in Van Buren. He needed surgery from injuries sustained during the abuse, he said.
It’s been more than 40 years since then but it’s not too late to talk about it, Kenlan said.
Amato said he started using opioids shortly after the surgery. It took him getting sober to fully understand what happened to him, he said. Amato, now 49, has been sober for more than 10 years.
“I’m lucky to be here,” Amato said. “Most of my friends are gone.”
He was told he’d get a letter from the American Conference of Bishops acknowledging the alleged abuse, which he still hasn’t received, he said while choking up during a press conference announcing the settlement on Thursday.
“For me it’s not about the money, it never was,” Amato said. “I just wanted someone to say ‘Sorry,’ and I still haven’t really gotten that.”
Amato chose to be identified publicly because he didn’t want to hide. He wants other men and boys to know they can and should speak up if they are abused, he said.