More on Cardinal Dolan's sex abuse scheme

A while ago I had a post about the irony of having Cardinal Dolan in charge of "helping" sex abuse victims, given that he had swindled them out of $57 million dollars in the past, and that the new plan he was floating was simply a way for the church to do an end run around the justice system and evade going to court. Today I saw an article in the National Catholic Reporter that says much the same. Here's the beginning of it ...

NY cardinal's new compensation program for victims will keep sex abuse hidden

Cardinal Timothy Dolan is trying something new. After years of successfully opposing legislation that would give New York abuse victims more time to sue, he has launched a victims' compensation program -- a first for the New York archdiocese.

This is the Year of Mercy, and the cardinal said he was inspired by the "grace and challenge" of this fact.

"I just finally thought: 'Darn it, let's do it,' " he told The New York Times.

The surprise move is winning the cardinal praise. The often critical New York Daily News commended him, citing his "remarkable moral courage."

As a researcher of the Catholic abuse crisis, I see his plan differently. While the fund certainly will help some victims, its biggest beneficiary will be Dolan and his management team. This is a legal strategy in pastoral garb, a tactic by the powerful archbishop to control victims and protect the church's assets and its secrets .... Victims must sign a legal agreement to abide by "all requirements pertaining to privacy and confidentiality," and they must release the archdiocese from future liability -- i.e., never sue it ....