Los Angeles Archdiocese Agrees to Pay $880 Million to Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sex abuse that has persisted for decades. An attorney said this is the largest child abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese, it was announced Wednesday.

After announcing the agreement in principle, Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement: “I am sorry for all these incidents, from the bottom of my heart.”

“My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered,” the archbishop added. “I believe we have reached a resolution to these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivors and victims of these past abuses.”

Lawyers for 1,353 people who allege they were brutally abused by local Catholic priests have reached the settlement after months of negotiations with the archdiocese, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The agreement caps a quarter-century of lawsuits against the most populous archdiocese in the United States.

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Lawyers for the plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee said in a joint statement: “While no amount of money can replace what was taken from these 1,353 brave individuals who suffered in silence for decades, there is justice in accountability.”

Under the settlement, the plaintiffs will initiate proceedings – which will not involve the archdiocese – to distribute the settlement amount among the participants.

The archdiocese previously paid $740 million to victims in various settlements and had pledged to better protect its church members, so this settlement would bring the total payout to more than $1.5 billion, the Times said.

Attorney Morgan Stewart, who led the negotiations, said in a statement that the settlement is the largest child abuse settlement involving a Catholic archdiocese.

“These survivors have suffered the aftermath of abuse for decades. Dozens of survivors have died. They are getting older, and so are many of those who know about the abuses within the church. It was time to get this resolved,” Stewart told the Times.

The settlement will be financed by archdiocese investments, accumulated reserves, bank financing and other assets. The archdiocese said certain religious orders and others named in the lawsuit will also cover some of the costs of the settlement, the Times reported.

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