Atlanta archdiocese acknowledges sexual abuse claims

ATLANTA - A lawyer for the Archdiocese of Atlanta said Wednesday that the catholic archdiocese has responded to six claims in the past 13 years accusing priests of sexually abusing boys. Some of the alleged abuse dates back to the 1960s. <br> <br> David Brown has represented the archdiocese in such cases since 1989. He says the church paid a total of $31,250 to settle four of the claims. Some victims also were paid by the church&#39;s insurance companies. <br> <br> One Atlanta man who made an accusation threatened another lawsuit Wednesday. Chris Gray says a priest made him play games involving nudity and asked him for oral sex when Gray, now 50, was an altar boy at Holy Cross parish in Chamblee during the &#39;60s. <br> <br> His attorney, Charlotte Perrelle, charged that the priest had improper sexual conduct with at least a dozen other altar boys. The priest was removed and is believed to have died. <br> <br> Perrelle says the church told the boys and their parents not to speak about it when they came forward. <br> <br> Some of the abuse complaints involved visiting priests and at least one happened out of state.