NEW guidelines are to be issued to the country’s 26 dioceses and archdioceses outlining how to best handle sending priests on leave in the event of a clerical abuse allegation.

The Boston Archdiocese has offered $55m (€48.5m) to settle more than 500 clergy sex abuse lawsuits, according to documents and sources familiar with the talks.

TOP officials in Boston’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese will not face criminal charges for keeping abusive priests in church parishes, a spokesman for the attorney general said, a major blow for alleged victims who hoped church leaders would be held accountable.