BUFFALO (NY)
WGRZ-TV [Buffalo NY]
June 10, 2025
The Buffalo Catholic Diocese says parishes will end up paying the majority of the money.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Reaction continues to the lawsuit settlement plans announced by the Buffalo Catholic Diocese on Monday. The Diocese will be looking to its parishes to pay more than half of the $150-million to settle the sex abuse lawsuits.
According to the Buffalo Diocese, the parishes will be responsible for $80-million, with each paying anywhere from 10 to 80 percent of the unrestricted cash they had on hand as of last August. That’s money that wasn’t earmarked for something specific already at the parish.
Parishes that are set to close would be paying higher percentages.
On Tuesday, 2 On Your Side spoke with Philip Gray, he’s a canon lawyer and the President of the Saint Joseph Foundation, a group of lay people who help parishioners navigate church policies and canon law.
We also spoke with Kevin Brun, he’s a sex abuse survivor and a former member of the Creditors’ Committee, who is not pleased with how this process is being handled.
“That’s not what I want as a survivor. I didn’t want this to be paid on the back of parishioners, and parishes, and people who went to church and believed that the gentleman standing on the altar was a priest and was acting in a Catholic faith,” said Kevin Brun.
“When you start to add it up, this is going to destroy the parishes financially. And now, the Bishop has created, in my opinion, there are additional victims that are not necessarily the same kind of victims, but he’s now victimizing others,” said canon lawyer Philip Gray.
2 On Your Side also talked with a spokesperson for the Buffalo Diocese on Tuesday, who told us that meetings are continuing this week with parish leaders. He said parishes are getting packets to complete that include a suggested contribution, with wealthier parishes paying higher percentages of their unrestricted funds.
Gray told us canon law says pastors and parishes are able to challenge this, but they’d have to take it up with the Bishop within ten days of the plans being announced. The Buffalo Diocese is asking for this money by July 15.