Church must pay $104 million to victims of historical abuse in Newfoundland

Jul 5, 2024 | 11:52 AM

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The Roman Catholic Church has been ordered to pay settlements totalling $104 million to 292 survivors of historical abuse in Newfoundland and Labrador, including those at the now infamous Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s.

An insolvency monitor’s report published today says individual claim entitlements from the archdiocese of St. John’s range from $55,000 to $850,000.

Ernst and Young’s report says the average entitlement is about $356,000.

Lawyer Geoff Budden, whose firm represents more than 200 survivors of abuse at the former Mount Cashel orphanage run by the Christian Brothers from the 1940s to the early 1960s, says the order today is an important step, but the decades-long fight is not over.