Largest US Catholic archdiocese is raising funds, selling assets and cutting costs to compensate about 1,300 victims
Largest US Catholic archdiocese is raising funds, selling assets and cutting costs to compensate about 1,300 victims
The Roman Catholic archdiocese of New York – the largest organization of its kind in the US – is raising a $300m fund as it seeks to settle with about 1,300 survivors of clergy sexual abuse who have sued the church.
Some of the money involved comes from the New York archdiocese’s cutting costs and selling off assets after Catholic priests, deacons and lay workers worldwide sexually preyed on children for decades – with the abusers being protected by their superiors.
The New York archdiocese has laid off employees and reduced its operating budget by 10% in order to raise enough money to cover settlements for most, if not all, of the outstanding claims. It has also completed the more than $100m sale of its former headquarters on First Avenue in Manhattan and other real estate.
Furthermore, the archdiocese agreed to engage retired judge Daniel J Buckley as a mediator between itself and survivors to reach a settlement. Buckley played a similar role in negotiations between the archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 people who accused its personnel of abuse, resulting in an $880m settlement in 2024.
