Church Is Urged to Raise Settlement

Alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse on Sunday challenged the Archdiocese of Boston to improve the $55-million offer it extended to 542 abuse victims last week, calling it inadequate in helping to mend shattered lives.

At a news conference outside the archdiocese’s chancery grounds, members of several victims’ groups said the settlement must not fall short, because it will be a model for other large-scale abuse cases around the nation.

“As we all struggle to figure out what moral leadership here is, we realize that $60,000 per victim as an average after legal fees is probably woefully inadequate just to pay for their direct out-of-pocket costs in their lifetimes for dealing with the tragedy,” said Paul Baier, president of Survivors First.

“It makes my life very cheap,” said Phil Cogswell, 47, of Concord, Mass., a plaintiff who says he was abused by former priest John J. Geoghan.

“It makes me feel very worthless.”

If the settlement is approved, it would be the largest total dollar amount offered to settle allegations of clergy abuse since the scandal broke in early 2002.

In June, the Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky agreed to pay $25.7 million to 243 people who said they had been abused.

After the settlement proposal Friday, plaintiffs’ lawyers and many victims had called the offer a constructive first step in a long process.

Telephone calls to the Rev. Christopher Coyne, spokesman for the Boston Archdiocese, were not immediately answered Sunday.