Archdiocese of New York will pay out $800 million in sexual abuse settlement

The Archdiocese of New York will pay out $800 million in a settlement with sexual abuse victims.

The settlement, first announced in May, required unanimous agreement of all 1,300 victims, which has been established, attorneys for hundreds of victims said on Oct. 24.

The agreement comes after years of litigation following New York’s 2019 passage of the New York Child Victims’ Act, which permanently extended the civil statute of limitations so victims of childhood sexual abuse can file claims until age 55, and opened a temporary revival window (extended through August 2021) that allowed previously time-barred claims to be filed by victims of any age.

The settlement also requires the archdiocese to maintain and update a list of credibly accused clergy on its website, attorneys said.

The archdiocese and a plaintiffs’ liaison committee, composed of attorneys from eight law firms representing the majority of claimants, negotiated for months to arrive at the agreement.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks called the news of the settlement “encouraging” in an Oct. 24 letter to priests provided to EWTN News by the archdiocese.

“We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors,” Hicks wrote. “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 instructed priests to assure their parishioners that parish life “should continue uninterrupted” if asked about the settlement, saying they will be informed through a message when the deal is finalized. The settlement agreement is scheduled to be signed Nov. 6.

In his letter to priests, Hicks thanked Cardinal Timothy Dolan, “under whose leadership the process began.”

The settlement amount is the second highest in history, near the record $880 million the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid in 2024 and half a billion dollars higher than the $300 million settlement Dolan announced in December 2025.

Dolan said at the time that the archdiocese had made “a series of very difficult financial decisions” to help fund the then-$300 million settlement, including staff layoffs, a 10% reduction in the archdioceseʼs operating budget, and the sale of real estate holdings, including the $100 million sale of the former diocesan headquarters in Manhattan.

The settlement allows the Archdiocese of New York to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Along with the Diocese of Brooklyn, it is one of only two of New York’s eight Catholic dioceses that have not sought bankruptcy protection.

The archdiocese confirmed to EWTN News that is is still engaged in litigation with its longtime insurer Chubb, which it sued in 2024, claiming the company was “attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation” to pay out claims to sex-abuse victims.

“Despite accepting millions in premiums from the archdiocese, Chubb has steadfastly refused to honor the policies it issued,” Dolan said in December 2025.