NY Diocese To Make Record $323M Abuse Settlement

Long Island’s ABC affiliate reports:

A years-long, painful legal battle between the eighth largest diocese in the country and hundreds of alleged sex abuse victims came to an end today. Chief Judge Martin Glenn signed off on the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s bankruptcy plan which finalized the $323 million settlement to begin dolling out payments early next year. The case was heard in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

The diocese, which represents 134 parishes across both Nassau and Suffolk counties, reached a $323 million settlement with roughly 600 victims back in September but the plan still needed final court approval. Parishioners reacted to today’s hearing outside of St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre today. “It’s a tragedy that’s all I can say,” one parishioner said. “The people that were harmed by them are entitled to everything they are going to get,” another added.

The Catholic News Agency reports:

The amount represents the largest settlement in U.S. diocesan bankruptcy history. It will be distributed to about 600 abuse survivors.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in October 2020 following the passage of the state’s Child Victims Act in 2019. That measure allowed for sex abuse lawsuits to be filed in past cases where survivors had not yet taken action, long after the statute of limitations had expired.

Rockville Centre had last year made a $200 million settlement offer to diocesan abuse victims, though the survivors ultimately rejected that offer.

Photo: Bishop John Barres.