NY archdiocese nears $800m abuse settlement
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The Archdiocese of New York agreed to pay over $800 million to settle about 1,300 clergy abuse claims.
The unsigned deal would avoid bankruptcy and end seven years of litigation.
Background
The Archdiocese of New York is a Roman Catholic archdiocese established in 1850, with over 300 parishes serving 2.5 million parishioners in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and parts of the Hudson Valley. The settlement follows state laws, including a 2019 New York measure extending the deadline for survivors to bring civil suits until age 55 and opening a temporary window for older survivors, that let victims of child sexual abuse sue over decades-old crimes. The church has paid billions in US settlements in recent years, and multiple dioceses have taken loans, sold property or gone bankrupt; this deal would avoid bankruptcy for the archdiocese.
How it unfolded
- 2024The Archdiocese of Los Angeles settled with 1,353 abuse claimants for $1.5 billion, per one source, or $880 million per others; the Rockland Diocese, about 25 miles north of Manhattan, settled with 600 plaintiffs for $323 million.
- Dec 2025The Archdiocese of New York agreed to mediation on the 1,300 claims and said it had laid off staff and planned to sell some Manhattan properties to raise $300 million for survivors.
- May 2026The archdiocese agreed to the $800 million payment under a framework requiring the consent of everyone who had filed a claim.
- Oct 23, 2026A lawyer for nearly 300 plaintiffs emailed them that a deal had been reached; that evening archdiocese spokesperson Joseph Zwilling told the New York Times the parties were "not quite there yet."
- Oct 24, 2026Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks told priests in a Saturday letter that the deal is set to be signed the first week of November, confirming an agreement but saying it was not yet signed; lawyers said survivors had agreed to the $800 million settlement.
- week of Nov 6, 2026The settlement is scheduled to be signed.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks said the parties are "on the verge" of bringing "some measure of healing and reconciliation" to victim-survivors and that the deal lets the archdiocese focus on its mission.
- Support
- Attorney Jeff Anderson, whose firm represents 250–300 alleged victims, said the settlement was finalized pending paperwork and credited the survivors' courage in pressing for "some real reckoning."
- Support
- Attorney Jeff Herman, whose firm represents about 260 alleged victims, said plaintiffs can take a $250,000 "quick-pay" sum now or have a judge review their case, and described the outcome as "justice and vindication."
- Caution
- Archdiocese spokesperson Joseph Zwilling said on Friday evening the parties were still finalizing the agreement: "We are not quite there yet."
Still unverified
Whether a final deal is in place is disputed: plaintiffs' lawyers said the settlement was finalized and all plaintiffs had signed off, while the archdiocese spokesperson said they were "not quite there yet" and Hicks said it had not yet been signed. Lawyers also warned clients that holdouts risked lower payouts or that the archdiocese would claim bankruptcy if they did not accept.