New York Archdiocese Agrees to $800 Million Settlement With 1,300 Abuse Survivors

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse have agreed to an $800 million settlement with the Archdiocese of New York, lawyers for the survivors announced on Saturday. The deal resolves claims brought by about 1,300 people and is the second largest settlement involving a Catholic archdiocese in the United States. Archbishop Ronald Hicks confirmed the agreement in an email to clergy on Saturday. He said the agreement will not be final until the parties sign it, an action scheduled for the week of November 6.

Under the terms described by the survivors' lawyers, each survivor can choose a lump sum payment of at least $250,000 or seek a larger payout after an individual review of the abuse they suffered. Reuters reported that the archdiocese also agreed to release documents pertaining to sexual offenders in the Church. The settlement allows survivors to pursue further claims against the Church's insurers for additional payouts, and it avoids a bankruptcy filing by the archdiocese.

Seven years of lawsuits

The agreement would end more than seven years of lawsuits. The parties agreed to a framework for a settlement in May that required everyone who filed a claim to sign off. That condition has now been met, according to the lawyers.

"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, an attorney representing survivors, said in a statement. "Through their courage, sacrifice, and determination, survivors have helped bring about a reckoning and a meaningful step toward accountability."

Hicks struck a similar note in his message to clergy. "We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors," he wrote. He said the agreement would also allow the archdiocese to return its full attention to its work in parishes, schools and charities.

One of a wave of large settlements

The only larger settlement of this kind in the United States was reached by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which agreed in 2024 to pay $880 million to about 1,000 abuse victims, in addition to $740 million in claims it had paid previously. In June, the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to a $395 million settlement over about 500 lawsuits. In December 2025, a federal judge approved a settlement in which the Archdiocese of New Orleans agreed to pay at least $230 million to abuse victims.

Catholic dioceses across the United States have paid billions of dollars in settlements in recent years. Many of the cases were filed after New York and other states passed laws that temporarily allowed victims of child sexual abuse to bring lawsuits over crimes committed decades earlier. New York's claims were brought under the Child Victims Act, according to the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of New York covers the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, along with seven counties north of New York City. It is home to about 300 churches, more than 150 parochial schools and about 2.5 million Catholics. Its seat is St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.

The settlement still needs its formal signing, scheduled for the week of November 6, before it becomes final. Until then, both sides describe it as agreed in full by every survivor who filed a claim.