New York Archdiocese Reaches $800M Abuse Settlement
Archbishop Hicks says parish life will go on uninterrupted; no forced closures and no bankruptcy filing are planned as funds are raised.
On Nov. 5, 2026, Archbishop Ronald Hicks announced that the Archdiocese of New York and plaintiffs’ lawyers had signed an approximately $800 million settlement resolving about 1,300 abuse claims brought under New York’s Child Victims Act and related laws.
The archdiocese and other participating entities will fund a total pool of $804.25 million. An initial payment of about $619.25 million is due, with a second payment next year covering the remaining balance. The Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee, representing roughly 70 percent of survivors’ claims, negotiated the terms under the supervision of a retired judge serving as mediator. The process began under Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
How the funds were raised
In a letter to the faithful, Archbishop Hicks said the sale of the former archdiocesan chancery and the ground lease under the Palace Hotel, a move to smaller offices, and staff cutbacks and downsizing had “raised a significant percentage” of the funds owed. Parishes have made voluntary contributions, many from parish reserve funds, and other institutions are stepping up.
He assured Catholics that parish life “should continue uninterrupted, celebrating Mass and the sacraments.” The archdiocese stated that no parish or school will be forced to close and that it has no plans to file for bankruptcy.
In an Oct. 24 email to priests, Hicks said the archdiocese was “on the verge” of a settlement so it could “turn its full attention once again to its mission” of evangelization and works of mercy. Word of an agreement first surfaced in May 2026.
Claims process and transparency
Attorney Jeff Anderson said in an Oct. 25 statement that a neutral allocator will evaluate individual claims. Survivors may choose a flat $250,000 “quick-pay option.” The terms require publishing the names of credibly accused priests and publicly disclosing offending priests’ files in a database. The archdiocese will keep the list of credibly accused clergy on its website and, once claims are resolved, provide historical abuse records—with confidential information removed—to Iona University or another agreed institution for archival and research use.
Legal background
New York’s Child Victims Act passed the state legislature on Jan. 28, 2019, and was signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Feb. 14, 2019. It raised the age limit for civil suits to 55 and opened a one-year lookback window from Aug. 14, 2019, later extended on Aug. 3, 2020, to Aug. 14, 2021. Cardinal Dolan had created the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program in 2016, which paid millions to survivors.
The New York resolution comes after years of litigation. U.S. dioceses paid more than $5 billion in abuse settlements from 2004 to 2024; with this agreement, the cumulative figure is now closer to, and possibly above, $6 billion. The Church continues to call for justice for victims, conversion of heart, and safeguards that protect the young and vulnerable.