'My hope is that these settlements will help the survivors and their families begin to heal and move forward,' said Cardinal Francis George, the head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The nationwide scandal, which erupted six years ago, has undermined the reputation of the church here and devastated its finances.

Last year alone, the Catholic Church paid out US$615 million, the bulk of it - US$526 million - to halt any further legal proceedings.

The Chicago deal involves 14 cases of abuse by 10 priests stretching from 1962 to 1994, the Archdiocese said in its statement.

Two other victims of Reverend Daniel J. McCormack, who is serving a jail sentence after pleading guilty last year to abusing five children, will also be compensated, it added.

'I apologise again today to the survivors and their families and to the whole Catholic community. We must continue to do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the children in our care,' Mr George said in his separate statement.

A deposition made by Mr George as part of the mediation process has also been made public.

According to the organisation 'Bishop Accountability", more than 4,000 priests, out of the 42,000 in the United States, were accused of abusing scores of children. -- AFP