New York Archdiocese agrees to pay $۸۰۰m to ۱,۳۰۰ sexual abuse survivors

The settlement is the second-largest after an $۸۸۰m ​deal reached by the Archdiocese of Los ​Angeles in ۲۰۲۴.

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay more than $۸۰۰m to settle the legal claims of about ۱,۳۰۰ survivors of sexual abuse by clergy.

New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks said on Saturday that the settlement will be formally signed on November ۶ after an agreement with the plaintiffs and their lawyers.

“We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors,” he wrote in an email sent to his priests and shared by the archdiocese’s news outlet.

“This agreement will also allow the archdiocese to turn its full attention once again to its mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, caring for the poor and needy, welcoming the stranger, and educating our children,” he added.

According to The New York Times, which broke the story, each of the approximately ۱,۳۰۰ survivors will receive at least $۲۵۰,۰۰۰ from the Archdiocese of New York and potentially more depending on the severity of the abuse suffered.

The settlement is the second-largest of its kind after an $۸۸۰m deal reached by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in ۲۰۲۴.

“The unanimous agreement of survivors who filed claims against the Archdiocese of New York marks a powerful moment in the pursuit of justice,” Jeff Anderson, a lawyer representing people who filed more than ۱,۰۰۰ claims against the Catholic Church in New York state, said in a statement.

“Through their courage, sacrifice, and determination, survivors have helped bring about a reckoning and a meaningful step toward accountability.”

Scandals and settlements

The agreement marks the end of years of negotiations with lawyers representing the plaintiffs, as the Catholic Church in the United States has been mired in sexual abuse scandals since the early ۲۰۰۰s.

In the ۲۰۰۰s, media investigations revealed that Catholic priests in the US had committed sexual abuse against thousands of children over several decades, and that church leaders had often covered up these cases or transferred the offending priests instead of reporting them to civil authorities.

Dioceses across the country have had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, and programmes have been created to compensate survivors without going to trial.

In June, the Archdiocese of San Francisco announced it had reached an agreement to pay $۳۹۵m to about ۵۳۰ survivors of sexual abuse committed by its clergy to settle their lawsuits.