Archdiocese of New York to pay $800 million to settle sexual abuse cases

The Catholic Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay $800 million in a settlement with 1.300 survivors of sexual abuse, one of the largest payouts in a wave of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests in the United States.

The settlement is the second largest, right behind the $880 million agreement reached by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2024. The Catholic Church has paid billions of dollars in settlements across the United States in recent years, after New York and other states passed laws that temporarily allowed victims of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits for crimes dating back decades, Reuters reports.

Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, attorneys representing 300 survivors with claims against the archdiocese, said the settlement is a victory that will end nearly six years of legal battles with the Church and its insurers. The proposed settlement is subject to final documentation and full consent from survivors before it can be completed, Anderson said.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks said in a letter to the faithful that he was "cautiously optimistic" that all sexual abuse claimants would support the agreement. Hicks, who became archbishop of New York in February, said the church had cut staff and operating costs to finance the settlement.

"This has been a painful process - most of all for the victim-survivors, their families and loved ones, who in most cases have suffered for decades," Hicks said.

In addition to the $800 million payment, the archdiocese agreed to release documents related to sex offenders in the Church.

"It's far from full accountability, but it is a measure of taking responsibility," Anderson said in a statement.

The settlement, Reuters reports, will allow survivors to continue proceedings against the Church's insurance companies for additional payments.

The settlement also allows the archdiocese to avoid bankruptcy. New York's Child Victims Act, passed in 2019, and similar laws in other states have led many large Catholic organizations across the United States to file for bankruptcy protection.

In New York state, every diocese except the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn has filed for bankruptcy to finalize similar settlements in sexual abuse lawsuits.

Finnegan, who represented survivors in the Los Angeles settlement as well, said reaching a settlement outside of bankruptcy is better for both survivors and Catholic dioceses.

"It is better for both parties to reach a resolution early, rather than going through a long and expensive bankruptcy process," Finegan said.

The Archdiocese of New York and the abuse survivors began mediation in December before retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel Buckley, who also brokered the settlement in Los Angeles. In a statement at the time, Cardinal Timothy Dolan acknowledged that the sexual abuse of minors was a shameful chapter in the Church's past.