BOSTON, June 20 (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and four lawyers representing some 275 alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse have agreed to a 30-day cooling-off period to explore a possible financial settlement.
The lawyers handling civil lawsuits against the archdiocese said Thursday that the truce was reached Wednesday night with attorneys representing the archdiocese and Cardinal Bernard Law.
"We would not have made this decision if we did not feel there was a basis for a deal," said Roderick MacLeish Jr., who represents some 150 alleged victims of clerical molesters.
In a statement faxed to United Press International, archdiocese spokeswoman Donna M. Morrissey said the four lawyers "have agreed to postpone all discovery including depositions for 30 days while they engage in preliminary discussions concerning the settlement of claims."
The agreement meant that Law would not have to face another day of deposition, scheduled for Thursday.
In addition to MacLeish, the other lawyers included in the accord are Robert A. Sherman, Carmen Durso and Jeffrey Newman.
Their clients allege they were abused by a dozen priests in the archdiocese from the 1960s through 1991, and accuse Law and other top church officials of covering up the abuse to avoid embarrassing the church by shifting alleged abusers from parish to parish where they continued to have access to children.
The preliminary talks were expected to explore how much liability insurance the archdiocese has to settle the complicated abuse claims.
The attorneys said it "made sense" to try to find a framework to work out a settlement rather than take the lawsuits to trial, a process that could take years.
Even if some of their clients do not agree to take part in any settlement, they could still go ahead with their civil lawsuits.
The four attorneys represent those who claim they were molested by the Rev. Paul R. Shanley and other priests, but not those who accused former priest John J. Geoghan of molesting them.
The attorney representing more than 80 of Geoghan's alleged victims, Mitchell Garabedian, is not taking part in the preliminary talks.
Garabedian previously had reached a settlement that would have cost the archdiocese between $15 million and $30 million, but the church last month backed out of that agreement.
Garabedian said he would press forward with his case to force the church to honor the deal for his clients. Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney has scheduled a hearing for July 31 to determine if the pact is binding.
