All five of the Catholic Dioceses in New Jersey have created a unified compensation fund to provide money to people who were sexually abused as children by their clergy. Victims will be eligible for the funds regardless of whether the statute of limitations has passed on their ability to file a lawsuit against the Diocese or priests. Payouts will be determined by fund administrators based in part on the extent and duration of the abuse, the nature of the abuse, age of the victim, the impact on the victim’s life, and whether drugs and alcohol were a factor. The program’s start and finish date have not yet been announced. Contact Horowitz law today for additional details on how to bring a compensation claim. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New Jersey and nationwide. We have handled similar fund claims in New York and Pennsylvania. Contact us at [email protected] or (954) 641-2100 to discuss your options today with a lawyer regarding how to bring a claim in the New Jersey Dioceses compensation fund program. Some clergy abuse victims praised the opportunity to receive compensation while others view the funds as a public relations tool by the Diocese Bishops to quash legislation that would older victims of abuse an opportunity to file lawsuit on time-barred claims. Unlike the clams process, a lawsuit would potentially yield answers to questions about the priest’s history of abuse and the role that Bishops and other Diocese officials played in allowing such abuse to occur. The Dioceses’ announcement comes at a critical juncture for the Catholic church as lawmakers will be deciding in the upcoming session whether whether to temporarily remove the state’s civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse. Such a change could potentially be financially destructive to the Church and result in public gaining access to church records concerning abusive priests that have been held in secrecy for decades The five Catholic Dioceses in New Jersey are the Archdiocese of Newark, Diocese of Camden, Diocese of Trenton, Diocese of Paterson, and Diocese of Metuchen. Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in New Jersey. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in New Jersey, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in New Jersey now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us.