Archdiocese of New York Agrees to $800 Million Settlement With About 1,300 Abuse Claimants

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay $800 million to settle claims from about 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused by clergy members and lay workers.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks confirmed the deal Saturday, Oct. 24, in an email to priests. He said it is not final until the parties sign, which is scheduled for the week of Nov. 6.

It is the second-largest settlement of its kind in the country. Only the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay more: $880 million, agreed in 2024 for about 1,000 victims, on top of $740 million in claims it had paid earlier.

What the deal covers

Hicks wrote that the settlement will "resolve all outstanding claims brought against the Archdiocese of New York, our parishes, and affiliated agencies, under the Child Victims Act."

Jeff Anderson, whose firm represents plaintiffs in the cases, said every plaintiff agreed. That mattered because a framework reached in May required everyone who filed a claim to sign off.

The New York Times, which broke the news, reported that each survivor will receive at least $250,000, and potentially more depending on the severity of the abuse. The archdiocese has not published a payout schedule.

The deal would end more than seven years of litigation.

How New York got here

The lawsuits trace to the Child Victims Act, a New York law enacted in 2019. It lets survivors of child sexual abuse sue their abusers, and the institutions that shielded them, until they turn 55. People who had already passed 55 when the law took effect had until August 2021 to file, no matter when the abuse happened.

In December 2025, the archdiocese agreed to mediation. It said then that it had laid off staff and planned to sell some Manhattan properties to raise $300 million for survivors.

That leaves a gap of about $500 million between the asset-sale target and the settlement figure. The archdiocese has not said how it will fill it.

The wider pattern

Other dioceses have also paid out. In June, the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to $395 million 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.

The scandal itself is not new. Media investigations in the early 2000s showed that priests across the U.S. had abused thousands of children over decades. Church leaders often covered up cases or moved offending priests rather than reporting them to civil authorities.

The New York archdiocese covers the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and seven counties to the north. It has about 300 churches, more than 150 parochial schools and 2.5 million Catholics.

What the parties are saying

Anderson called the unanimous agreement "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."

He said his clients have mixed feelings: sorrow over the abuse, and relief that the fight is over. "The first is a real sense of relief and achievement," he said, 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."

Trusha Goffe, an attorney at Anderson's firm, called it "an extraordinary achievement for the survivors." She said they "remained resolute through years of litigation."

Hicks framed the deal as a path to closure. "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 it would let the archdiocese "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 also told priests that if parishioners ask, they should be told "much progress has been made."

What comes next

Nothing is final until the signatures are on the page. The signing is scheduled for the week of Nov. 6.

Still unanswered is how the archdiocese will fund an $800 million obligation after laying off staff and planning to sell Manhattan property.