BOSTON -- The emotional scars may never go away, but their long and painful court battle is over as the alleged sex abuse victims of defrocked priest John Geoghan reach a settlement with the Archdiocese of Boston.

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NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda said that there were faces of pain after the settlement was made official.

Nancy Greenlaw clutched a picture of her son, John Brian, who committed suicide last year.

"All the money in the world isn't going to mend my broken heart or bring my Brian back. He's gone forever because of the abuse and the church's inaction," Greenlaw said.

After years of sometimes rancorous litigation, it was over in 15 minutes. Judge Constance Sweeney approved the $10 million deal for the 86 alleged victims of defrocked priest John Geoghan. She offered words of praise for the handful of plaintiffs in court.

"You're to be admired for the fact that you stayed the course. I hope you're able to recognize within yourselves, not just the hurt that was done to you by him, but your own resiliency and, quite frankly, your own courage," Sweeney said.

"That was exactly what I wanted to hear. She said we were sitting here and the whole time we were here, we were noticed by her. And that was very comforting," alleged victim Patrick McSorley said.

The spokeswoman for the archdiocese read a statement from Cardinal Bernard Law.

"Cardinal Law's sorrow expressed for people experiencing such pain and suffering due to sexual abuse is only compounded when it is such acts that involve betrayal of trust by a priest. For that, he apologizes from the depths of his heart," Donna Morrissey said.

"Money cannot restore what they have lost. So it's an artificial resolution to a very real personal problem. But that's all the law can really do on the civil side of the bar is to award money damages," Boston Archdiocese's attorney Wilson Rogers Jr. said.

That hard reality is one reason why the alleged victims cannot stem their anger or stop the tears.

"I can't fight these people because I'm fighting with morals and faith and with every breath I have, and they don't have morals. All they care about is the almighty dollar and how much it will take to get us off their back," an alleged victim's wife, Amy Keane, said.