Barbie Latza Nadeau looks at the numbers:
Like a similar church sex scandal that rocked the United States in 2002, the European phase is being handled quietly and swiftly by promises of change and financial compensation to the victims. In the United States, more than $1 billion has been paid to victims of abuse. Most claimants receive somewhere between $5,000 and $500,000, depending on the length and level of abuse. Others have received millions, especially those who were abused by multiple priests over a period of years. Dioceses in Ireland have already earmarked more than $1 billion to pay for the sins of their clergy and the other countries are tallying up the bill.