The Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and an abbey in Kansas have settled seven decades-old sex-abuse claims against the late Rev. John Forrester for a total of $2.6 million.

Forrester, a priest of St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, Kan., died in 2002. He served in the Seattle archdiocese at Holy Rosary in Seattle from 1974-75 and at All Saints in Puyallup from 1975-78.

In a statement released yesterday, the Seattle archdiocese said the Benedictine Order has agreed to pay $1 million of the settlement and that the remaining $1.6 million will be paid through the archdiocese's insurance policy.