New York Archdiocese says it’s setting up a $300M fund for sexual abuse victims

NEW YORK (AP) — The Archdiocese of New York on Monday announced it will set up a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse who have sued the church.

In a statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the archdiocese would pay for the fund by reducing its budget and selling off assets, including completing the sale of its former headquarters in Manhattan, with the goal that the fund “can be set aside to provide compensation to survivors of sexual abuse.”

The archdiocese has also agreed to engage retired Judge Daniel J. Buckley as a mediator between itself and victims to reach a settlement, Dolan said. Buckley had a similar role in negotiations between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 people there.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said church officials hope the fund would cover settlements for most, if not all of the roughly 1,300 outstanding claims against the archdiocese.

The announcement came as a federal judge on Monday approved a settlement for the New Orleans Archdiocese to pay $230 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse. The New Orleans Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020 to avoid handling each of the abuse claims separately.