By Lisa Marie Pane, Associated Press, 09/09/02

| Complete coverage |  AG'S REPORT Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly released the results of a 16-month investigation into clergy sex abuse in the Boston archdiocese. Download report [PDF, 1.4 MB] (File requires Adobe Acrobat)  TODAY'S GLOBE A new leader reaches out 3 faces in crowd bound in hopeh At BC, students watch with awe O'Malley's homily reveals frank man Near cathedral, voices of protest 'Good priests' moved to tears Text of Archbishop O'Malley's homily Sandwiches, chips were bill of fare An angry protest, and prayers  GRAPHICS The moment of installation Viewer's guide Ceremony TV coverage  Processional O'Malley's vestments O'Malley's coat of arms Cathedral of the Holy Cross  REALVIDEO | NECN.com | Help with video | O'Malley to be installed today Great expectations of O'Malley Video clips require RealPlayer and Windows 98 or higher.  INTERACTIVE FEATURE An interactive timeline of the developing church crisis, featuring photos and audio.   View timeline  IN-DEPTH Boston's new archbishop Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley has been chosen to succeed Cardinal Law as leader of the archdiocese. Reaction to O'Malley appointment Accused priests are vindicated Three priests have been exonerated after being suspended from their posts over abuse allegations.  CARDINAL BERNARD LAW Coverage of his resignation Career timeline: Priest to cardinal Changing statements on abuse Coverage of his tenure in Boston Photos: Law through the years Boston.com readers' comments  CONTACT SPOTLIGHT If you have information on child abuse by priests, call (617) 929-3208 Or leave a confidential message at this number (617) 929-7483 The Spotlight Team e-mail address is spotlight@globe.com.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Diocese of Providence has reached a $13.5 million settlement to settle decade-old lawsuits that accused Rhode Island clergy of sexual abuse of children.

The settlement covers all but two of the 38 men and women who sued the diocese in the early 1990s, accusing 11 priests and a nun of abusing them when they were children.

"This is a day long sought that brings to an end the difficult and often contentious process of litigation that has been painful for most concerned," said the Most Rev. Robert E. Mulvee, the bishop of Providence. "I hope that this action will be helpful to the victims of abuse and bring them in some way closer to closure and reconciliation with their God, their church, their families and themselves."

"As bishop of Providence, I reach out with deep sadness to the victims," Mulvee told reporters as several victims sat just a few feet away in a conference room at the diocese's headquarters. "It is their pain that motivates this" settlement.

It was announced jointly by Bishop Mulvee and lawyers for the plaintiffs. Several of the victims who attended the news conference said the bishop's apology meant more to them than the money.

"Listening to him today, I felt he was sincere," said Anita Guilbeault, 43, of Lincoln, who was abused as a teenager by her parish priest. "I feel emancipated."

Timothy J. Conlon, a lead lawyer in the cases, shook Mulvee's hand as news cameras captured the moment both sides called "historic." Conlon thanked the bishop for signing off on the settlement and for apologizing to his clients.

"Your heartfelt condolences and reaching out to my clients means more to them than anything I could bring," Conlon said. "It's more than you had to do and it's the right thing. ... I applaud your courage."

The lawsuits have been pending for about a decade while lawyers for both sides engaged in legal maneuvering. In the past year, negotiations began in earnest, and lawyers said talks intensified over the summer.

The church and the plaintiffs said that similar cases around the country did not have an effect on bringing the sides together in Rhode Island.

"At this particular moment, everything just clicked," Mulvee said.

Conlon said it was important to go forward with the settlement even though two cases were not included. Negotiations are continuing in those two cases.

"We felt it was important to nail down what we had accomplished," he said.

However, both sides they said they were intent on avoiding what happened in the Boston archdiocese -- when a tentative settlement was announced in lawsuits against defrocked priest John Geoghan only to have the church back out.

The Providence diocese will seek both internal and external financing to cover the cost of the settlement, and the financing will be paid within 10 to 15 years, church officials said.

Rhode Island is the most Roman Catholic state in the nation, with 624,000 Catholics out of a population of about 1 million people. It has more than 400 priests.

Guilbeault said she no longer considers herself a Catholic. Molested by a priest who was so close to her family they called him "Uncle Sonny," Guilbeault said she's hopeful she can now get beyond the pain she suffered.

"I don't want to stay angry. ... God didn't leave me by the wayside, the church did," she said.

Joe Ruggeri, 42, of Newport, was molested by his parish priest for about a month when he was a 10-year-old altar boy.

"The average Catholic in the diocese should be proud of what the diocese has done," in reaching the settlement, Ruggeri said. "It means a lot."

The diocese has $97 million in assets, according to its December financial statement, but state law allows the bishop to hold an unlimited amount of land tax-free in his name, with virtually no reporting requirements.

Its assets include the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, used for the 1998 movie "Meet Joe Black."

U.S. religious organizations are not required by law to report their tax-exempt holdings to the government. A 1954 amended state law allows the bishop to hold an unlimited amount of land tax-free in his name, with virtually no reporting requirements.