A program for victim-survivors of clergy sexual abuse has been closed following several extensions to allow for all relevant information to be submitted considering COVID-19 restrictions.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh established the voluntary Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) in 2018 and it began to be administered in January of 2019 by the Kenneth Feinberg Group.
More than $19 million has been awarded to victims and survivors in 224 different cases occurring over many decades. This program was designed to respond to sexual abuse of minors by clergy, as well as promote healing through compensation provided to victim-survivors.
The diocese says no funds for this program came from Our Campaign for the Church Alive!, Catholic Charities, parishes, schools, or any other funds designated for a specific use by the donor. Instead, funds came from the sale of assets such as property owned by the Diocese.
This program was created after a Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report released in 2018 documented decades of child sexual abuse by priests, some of which were serving in Butler County.