The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York said Thursday that it has created a compensation program for people who were sexually abused by priests or deacons and are willing to forego lawsuits in exchange for an award to be determined by an independent mediator.
Some advocates for sex abuse victims immediately assailed the program as an attempt to squash cases quickly, before New York’s legislature acts on a proposal to make it easier for victims to sue over abuse that happened years ago.