Source : Perth Now news
The Archdiocese of New York and lawyers for about 1,300 parishioners who said they were sexually abused by clergy have agreed to an $US800 million ($A1.1 billion) settlement of their legal claims, the second-largest involving a Catholic archdiocese in the US
Archbishop Ronald Hicks sent an email on Saturday to clergy confirming the settlement after lawyers for the survivors of alleged abuse announced it.
Hicks said the agreement would not be final until the parties sign it, an action scheduled for the week of November 6.
The only larger settlement over sexual abuse claims in the US was by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which agreed in 2024 to pay $US880 million ($A1.3 billion) to 1,000 abuse victims, in addition to $US740 million ($A1.1 billion) in claims it had paid previously.
The agreement with the New York archdiocese ends more than seven years of lawsuits and includes the release of documents pertaining to sexual offenders in the Church.
“The unanimous agreement of survivors who filed claims against the Archdiocese of New York marks a powerful moment in the pursuit of justice,” Jeff Anderson, an lawyer representing people who filed more than 1,000 of claims against the Catholic Church in New York state, said in a statement.
“Through their courage, sacrifice, and determination, survivors have helped bring about a reckoning and a meaningful step toward accountability.”
The Archdiocese of New York covers the city’s boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island as well as seven counties to the north of New York City and is home to about 300 churches, more than 150 parochial schools and 2.5 million Catholics.
Hicks said that if church members ask about the settlement, “please let them know that much progress has been made”.
“We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors,” he wrote.
A New York law enacted in 2019 allows survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits against their abusers and institutions that shielded them until they turn 55.
People who had already had turned 55 when the law was enacted also were given until August 2021 to file lawsuits, no matter when the alleged abuse occurred.
with Reuters
