Los Angeles Archdiocese Agrees to Pay $880 Million to Over 1,300 Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades, marking what an attorney described as the largest single settlement for child sexual abuse involving a Catholic archdiocese.

The announcement of this agreement in principle was made on Wednesday, October 16.

After the announcement,  Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement, “I am sorry for every one of 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 that we have come to a resolution of these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivor-victims of these past abuses.”

Attorneys representing 1,353 individuals who allege they suffered horrific abuse by local Catholic priests reached the settlement after months of negotiations with the archdiocese.

This agreement concludes a quarter-century of litigation against the most populous archdiocese in the United States.

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

Under the settlement terms, the plaintiffs will engage in a process independent of the archdiocese to allocate the settlement funds among themselves.

The archdiocese has previously paid $740 million to victims in various settlements and had committed to enhancing protections for its church members.

With this new settlement, the total payout will exceed $1.5 billion.

Attorney Morgan Stewart, who led the negotiations, stated that the settlement represents the largest single child sexual abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese.

“These survivors have suffered for decades in the aftermath of the abuse. Dozens of the survivors have died. They are aging, and many of those with knowledge of the abuse within the church are too. It was time to get this resolved” Stewart said.

The settlement will be financed through the archdiocese’s investments, accumulated reserves, bank financing, and other assets.

According to the archdiocese, certain religious orders and other parties named in the litigation will also contribute to covering some of the settlement costs.