New York Archdiocese $800 Million Abuse Settlement Wins Unanimous Approval From About 1,300 Survivors, Second-Largest for a U.S. Archdiocese
Lawyers for the survivors announced on October 24 that about 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused by clergy and lay workers of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York have unanimously approved an $800 million settlement of their claims. Archbishop Ronald Hicks confirmed the development the same day in an email to archdiocesan clergy, writing that the archdiocese had reached an understanding with all of the plaintiffs and their attorneys; the agreement is not final until it is signed, with signing scheduled for the week of November 6. The deal would end more than seven years of lawsuits. According to Reuters, it is the second-largest abuse settlement by a U.S. Catholic archdiocese, behind only the $880 million settlement reached by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2024.
The settlement grows out of a framework agreed in May, under which the archdiocese agreed to pay $800 million but required every claimant to sign off; this week's unanimous approval satisfies that condition. Jeff Anderson & Associates, which represents 300 of the survivors, said the settlement followed about 10 months of intensive negotiations between the archdiocese and the Plaintiffs' Liaison Committee. In addition to the $800 million, the archdiocese agreed to release documents pertaining to sexual offenders in the Church, and survivors retain the right to litigate against the Church's insurers for additional payouts. The arrangement also allows the archdiocese to avoid bankruptcy.
"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 said in a statement. "Through their courage, sacrifice, and determination, survivors have helped bring about a reckoning and a meaningful step toward accountability." In his email to priests, Hicks wrote: "We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors." He said the agreement would 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.
The claims stem from New York's Child Victims Act of 2019, which temporarily enabled survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits over decades-old crimes; other states enacted similar laws, and the Catholic Church has paid billions of dollars in settlements across the United States in recent years. By comparison, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had previously paid $740 million in claims in addition to its 2024 settlement; the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed in June to a $395 million settlement over about 500 lawsuits; and a federal judge approved in December 2025 a settlement of at least $230 million by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Archdiocese of New York covers the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island plus seven counties north of the city, with about 300 churches, more than 150 parochial schools and about 2.5 million Catholics.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国纽约 Manhattan 的圣帕特里克大教堂（St. Patrick's Cathedral），纽约总教区主教座堂，右侧为洛克菲勒中心 Atlas 雕像（资料图）。图：Jean-Christophe BENOIST，CC BY 3.0，经维基共享资源
