The Catholic Archdiocese of New York on Saturday agreed to an $800 million settlement over sexual abuse claims with 1,300 people who said they were abused by clergy members and lay leaders, according to The New York Times.
In an email obtained by the Daily News, New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks informed priests that, while the deal won’t be finalized until the week of Nov. 6, an understanding has been reached with all the plaintiffs and their attorneys.
“We have, in fact, reached an understanding with all of the plaintiffs and their attorneys,” Hicks wrote. “We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors. This agreement will also allow the archdiocese to turn its full attention once again to its mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, caring for the poor and needy, welcoming the stranger, and educating our children.”
Under the settlement, each plaintiff will have the option to receive a payment of at least $250,000 or a potentially larger payout after a review of the extent of the abuse each plaintiff has claimed, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, the Times said.
The settlement comes after years of back and forth with lawyers advising the plaintiffs that if they did not accept the Church’s proposed deal, the archdiocese would most likely declare bankruptcy, reducing the size of any eventual payout and extending the length of litigation.
“Tonight, we were able to finalize the settlement with the Archdiocese,” Trusha Goffe, an attorney with Jeff Anderson & Associates, wrote Friday in an email to the firm’s nearly 300 clients who say they were abused, according to the Times. “All of the survivors agreed to the revised deal. This means that the settlement you agreed to will move forward.”