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Missouri diocese, religious order settle sex abuse lawsuit

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A Catholic diocese and religious order in Missouri settled a lawsuit alleging a priest sexually abused a teenage boy in the 1970s, the victim's lawyer said.

The $130,000 settlement of a suit filed in 2012 by an unidentified former Missouri man against the Rev. James Urbanic, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and the Missionaries of the Precious Blood was finalized this month, said Sara Brown, the attorney representing the plaintiff, referred to as John Doe M.R.

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The case had been scheduled for trial in January.

Jack Smith, spokesman for the diocese, said its share of the settlement is $65,000, and Stephen Torline, attorney for Urbanic and the religious order, said the order, to which Urbanic belonged, paid an additional $65,000, the Kansas City Star reported Monday.

The plaintiff alleged Urbanic sexually abused him in the mid-1970s while he was a student at Bishop LeBlond High School in St. Joseph.

Urbanic was a local pastor and taught religion at the school.

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