Comment: AND, Fox News added these details....timely details:

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.

Under the plan, announced by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, people with abuse claims already pending with the church would have a limited time window -- until Jan. 31 -- to apply for compensation.

The archdiocese said it had hired mediators Camille Biros and Kenneth Feinberg to evaluate the claims and decide how much victims would be paid. Fox News