Archdiocese of Philadelphia agrees to $3.5 million settlement in priest sexual assault lawsuit

PHILADELPHIA — The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that one of its priests sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in Delaware County nearly two decades ago. Filed in 2020, the lawsuit alleges that Pastor John Close raped the boy at St. Katherine’s of Siena in Wayne in 2006. The plaintiff, whose name was withheld in court filings, was attending a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine program there, and Close was the head of the parish. During a class, the boy became upset, fearing eternal damnation. He was sent to Close’s office, the pastor took his co...