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Diocese settles claims

SPOKANE (Washington): The Spokane Catholic Diocese has agreed to pay $48 million to people molested by priests as part of a deal to emerge from bankruptcy, a Federal mediator announced on Thursday. The settlement is the latest of several similar agreements around the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Judge Gregg W. Zive said the Spokane settlement also included non-economic provisions that would provide survivors ``with some measure of closure and allow them to move forward and continue the healing process.'' Last month, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland filed a plan that would pay $75 million to settle nearly 170 claims of priest sex abuse. Also last month, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced a $60-million agreement to settle 45 sex abuse claims. Other large settlements include $100 million paid to 87 claimants last year by the Diocese of Orange in Orange County, California. — AP

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