The New York Archdiocese announced an agreement of $800 million to compensate hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, marking the end of years of negotiations.
© Getty
24/10/2026
by
Lusa
A New York Archdiocese confirmed today that it has reached an agreement to make up for over $800 million (about €714 million) hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by clergy members.
The agreement, which is to be formally signed in early November, marks the end of many years of difficult negotiations for victims, as the American Catholic Church has been involved since the early 2000s in various sexual abuse scandals, says the news agency France-Presse (AFP).
“ We are about, thank God, to bring a little comfort to all victims”, wrote Ronald Hicks, the new Archbishop of New York, in an ‘e-mail’ sent to the priests of his diocese and forwarded to AFP.
According to The New York Times, which released the news, each of the approximately 1,300 victims will receive at least $250,000 (around 223,000), depending on the severity of the abuses.
Ronald Hicks was appointed bishop last year by Pope Leo XIV, replacing conservative cardinal Timothy Dolan, who shortly before his departure had announced the creation of a fund of $300 million (EUR 267.8 million) to compensate victims of sexual abuse.
In the 2000s, press investigations revealed that Catholic priests in the United States had sexually abused thousands of children over several decades and that the hierarchy of the Church, including the bishops, often covered up cases or transferred the abusive priests instead of reporting them to the authorities.
The dioceses had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and programs were created to compensate victims without trial.
Last June, the Archdiocese of San Francisco announced that it had reached an agreement to pay $395 million (EUR 352.6 million) to some 530 victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy and to resolve their lawsuits.