New York Archdiocese agrees to $800 million abuse settlement

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay $800 million to settle sexual abuse claims brought by about 1,300 people, in one of the largest settlements of its kind involving the Catholic Church. The agreement has not yet been signed.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks told priests on Saturday that the archdiocese had reached an agreement with the plaintiffs and their lawyers. Al Jazeera reported that Hicks said it would be formally signed on November 6. Jeff Anderson, whose firm represents more than 250 plaintiffs, told NPR that the settlement was finalized pending paperwork and that all plaintiffs had agreed to it.

“We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors,” Hicks wrote in an email to priests shared with NPR.

“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 wrote.

The claims involve alleged sexual abuse by clergy members and lay workers. According to Al Jazeera, citing The New York Times, each of the approximately 1,300 claimants will receive at least $250,000 from the archdiocese, with the possibility of more depending on the severity of the abuse suffered. The New York Times first reported the agreement.

Anderson said his clients felt both sorrow over the abuse they experienced and relief that the legal fight was nearing an end. “The first is a real sense of relief and achievement,” he told NPR, along with “the belief that having stood up at least they have now a chance to move forward and have done something to protect others in the future and clean up the archdiocese of New York.”

In a statement reported by Al Jazeera, Anderson called the unanimous agreement among survivors who filed claims against the archdiocese “a powerful moment in the pursuit of justice.” He added: “Through their courage, sacrifice, and determination, survivors have helped bring about a reckoning and a meaningful step toward accountability.”

The settlement follows the archdiocese’s decision in December 2025 to enter mediation over the roughly 1,300 claims. At the time, it said it had laid off staff and planned to sell some Manhattan properties in an effort to raise $300 million to pay survivors, according to NPR.

Al Jazeera described the New York agreement as the second-largest settlement of its kind, after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed in 2024 to pay $880 million to people who alleged sexual abuse by its clergy. Al Jazeera also reported that the Archdiocese of San Francisco announced in June an agreement to pay $395 million to about 530 survivors to settle lawsuits involving alleged abuse by clergy.