New York Archdiocese reaches $800 million abuse settlement for about 1,300 claimants

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay $800 million to settle claims brought by about 1,300 people who say clergy members and lay workers sexually abused them. The agreement was first reported by The New York Times and followed up by NPR on October 24.

Agreed, but not yet signed

Archbishop Ronald Hicks said in an email to priests of the archdiocese on Saturday afternoon that a deal had been reached with plaintiffs and their attorneys, but had not yet been signed. He wrote that the archdiocese was on the verge of being able to bring "some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors." Jeff Anderson, a lawyer whose firm represents more than 250 of the plaintiffs, said the settlement was finalized pending signed paperwork, and that all plaintiffs had agreed to it.

Anderson said his clients expressed mixed feelings of sorrow about the abuse they experienced and relief that the legal fight is over. "The first is a real sense of relief and achievement," he said, and "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."

Scale among U.S. church settlements

The settlement ranks among the largest Catholic church sexual abuse settlements in the United States; in 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to an $880 million settlement for similar claims. Reports say formal signing is expected in the week of November 6; until then, the deal's legal effect awaits the paperwork.

Source: NPR, October 24, 2026 (first reported by The New York Times).