By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press, 06/20/02

| 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.

BOSTON -- Tony Muzzi Jr. has some advice for alleged sexual abuse victims who are ready to sit down with officials from the Archdiocese of Boston to discuss settling claims against priests.

"Don't trust them," Muzzi said Thursday, a day after attorneys for 275 alleged victims said they would put their legal claims on hold for at least 30 days to try to work out an agreement with the archdiocese.

Muzzi is one of 86 alleged victims of defrocked priest John J. Geoghan. Their lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, said Thursday he has no intention of joining the new settlement talks.

Garabedian said he plans to ask a judge next month to force the archdiocese to honor a tentative settlement, worth $15 million to $30 million, that the archdiocese pulled out of in May.

If the request is denied, Garabedian said, he will take the cases to trial.

"I will not go back to the settlement table. We had an agreement," Garabedian said at a news conference, where he was joined by Muzzi and two other men who claim they were sexually abused by Geoghan when they were children.

"How can you trust people like these? They're supposed to be very moral people, but all they do is re-victimize these poor souls," Garabedian said.

Patrick McSorley, another Geoghan victim, said he believes that the archdiocese, by agreeing to negotiate with other alleged victims, was trying to "stick me in a can with all these other sardines."

He said he would rather take his case to trial than to allow the archdiocese "to give us as little as they can."

"I'm not going to let them shortchange me for my childhood. No way," he said.

In May, the archdiocese's Finance Council voted against Cardinal Bernard Law's request to approve the settlement for Garabedian's clients, citing concerns that not enough money would be available for future settlements.

Spokeswoman Donna M. Morrissey said the archdiocese hopes to reach agreements with the victims.

"Our desire has been and continues to be to achieve a just and equitable resolution to these cases in a non-litigious manner that will contribute to the healing process for survivors of abuse, and we are focusing our efforts to achieve that goal," she said.

Attorney Jeffrey Newman, whose talks with archdiocese officials led to the 30-day truce, said his clients see the settlement talks as an opportunity.

Newman and attorney Roderick MacLeish did not characterize what they want out of a settlement or a potential dollar figure, saying the settlement would not be negotiated in the media.

The 275 alleged victims represent cases against more than 20 Roman Catholic priests in the archdiocese. In lawsuits, plaintiffs allege the archdiocese failed to prevent sexual abuse and moved priests facing multiple allegations from parish to parish.

The announcement of preliminary talks came less than a week after Law returned from a national bishops conference in Dallas, at which the bishops endorsed a policy that would remove all child-molesting priests from church work but not necessarily from the priesthood.