The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has reached an $8.5 million settlement with insurance companies for coverage of clergy sex abuse claims. A spokesman for the diocese said Wednesday that $3.5 million will be used to pay back the diocese for half of the $7 million it paid in 2004 to settle sexual abuse claims.
The remaining $5 million will be used to establish a settlement fund for about 60 other victims.
The insurance companies had argued they had no obligation to cover claims if diocesan officials were aware of sexual abuse by its priests.
A lawsuit filed by the diocese led to the release of files on clergy abuse investigations, including the unsolved murder of 13-year-old altar boy Daniel Croteau in the early 1970s.
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