(NY)
WROC [Rochester NY]
July 30, 2025
By Isabel Garcia
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Following the announcement of a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Diocese of Rochester over decades’ worth of childhood clergy sexual abuse claims, survivors are beginning to speak out.Rochester clergy sex abuse survivors accept $246M settlement
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, of Garabedian Law, organized a media briefing Wednesday morning, providing a platform for two survivors who have been at the forefront of the court case for the past six years. He represents 97 of the 466 claimants who agreed to the settlement.
“They were abused when they were children. These cases are decades, decades old—more than 50 years old for many brave survivors. They are to be commended for their relentlessness in seeking validation,” Garabedian said. “We recently had a court date earlier this week, and it was disclosed that 466 survivors who filed proofs of claim in the Diocese of Rochester matter voted in favor of accepting the $246 million settlement plan. It was a unanimous plan.”
One of the survivors is Carol Dupre, who was abused when she was just 15 years old in the late ’60s.
“I have experienced other kinds of abuse, and I have not had a voice for it—and this gave me an opportunity to have a voice,” Dupre said.
“That impact statement meeting that we had a week ago today was one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen in all of our six years together,” Dupre said. “And that was when about 30 people had the opportunity to express what they—what happened to them, what they’ve gone through, and how it has, for some of them, literally destroyed lives. There’s just a thread that runs through: alcohol abuse, promiscuity, drug addiction, broken marriages, broken relationships.”
While Dupre describes the entire lawsuit journey as therapeutic and, overall, empowering, she feels there are still some shortcomings that were not fully addressed. She was the first person to give impact statements in court last week.
“I was very frustrated because I wanted to speak to the Bishop, because I think the Bishop is the one who is responsible for what has happened. He represents the Diocese in Rochester that we’ve been fighting for decades. For me, it was in the early 1960s—it was a long time ago—but I couldn’t see the man because his lawyers were arranging their chairs in a way that covered him up. He had another priest sitting next to him who angled himself, and all I saw was the top of his grey hair,” she said.
News 8 reached out to the Diocese of Rochester to inquire specifically about that moment, as well as the overall settlement agreement. The Diocese of Rochester issued this statement in response:
“The Diocese of Rochester is hopeful that the bankruptcy plan will be approved at the Confirmation hearing scheduled for September 5, 2025, and help to ease the hurt and suffering of the survivors, who have endured this painful process for six years. We pray that they will know the peace of Jesus and that their faith, so scarred by those who so betrayed their trust, will be restored in Our Lord, who is our ultimate hope.”
Deacon Edward Giblin, Diocese of Rochester
Also speaking out Wednesday was Bernardo Benitez, a survivor who came forward in 2002. He had the chance to speak directly with the priest who inflicted abuse on him and his siblings and reflected on what happened during that confrontation.
“I asked him, when I walked in, I said, ‘Do you know who I am?’ and he says, ‘Yes, I do. You’re one of the Benitez brothers.’ And I said, ‘Do you know why I’m here?’ and he says, ‘Yes, I do.’ And I said, ‘Well, this is what happened in my life because of what you did to me and my brothers—now why did you do this?’ And he gave me some crazy excuse, or whatever, but he asked for forgiveness—and I forgave him,” Benitez said, emotionally describing how he has held on to his faith.
Garabedian notes part of the settlement will also include the release of critical documents which, by design, record whom and how the Church protected.
“There are secret files—they’re known as the Canon Law 489 files—and they’ll be, I believe, placed in a public archive at a university so that the world can see these records,” Garabedian said.
News 8 also inquired with the Diocese of Rochester about where exactly those files will be kept. That detail was not addressed in the statement above.
In terms of whether these survivors feel any meaningful progress has been made on the deeply rooted issue of childhood sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, each expressed little confidence that major changes are underway. They said it remains part of the Church’s “business modus operandi.” However, they continue to hold out hope that leaders in the Catholic Church, including the Pope, will more directly acknowledge, recognize, and verbalize the truth of what has plagued the institution for so long.
The settlement is set to be confirmed in a bankruptcy court hearing on September 5 at the court on State Street.
If you or someone you know has suffered from childhood clergy sexual abuse, Garabedian says police should be notified immediately. There is also a support route established within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester.