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	Victims of Priests' Sex Abuse Tell All Washington Times [Boston MA] Downloaded December 6, 2003 BOSTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Plaintiffs in an $85 million sexual molestation lawsuit against the Catholic Church's Boston diocese are telling their stories to arbitrators. The arbitrators are to set payments between $80,000 and $300,000 for the victims, depending on the severity of their abuse and its long-term effects, the Boston Herald reported Friday. Victims expect to get their checks by Dec. 22, said Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer who represents 120 plaintiffs who are taking part in the settlement process. Garabedian said he was leery of trusting church officials, since his clients were burned by an archdiocesan about-face after a settlement was announced last year. Nevertheless, he said, "I've been assured and reassured by the arbitrator and by the attorney for the church that the $85 million is in place." To help fund the payments, Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley has decided to sell the diocesan residential mansion. The ornate residence, home to O'Malley's predecesors for more than 70 years, is on the block because "there really were not a lot of choices left," he said in an interview with The Pilot, the diocesan newspaper.
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