NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune [New Orleans LA]
November 25, 2025
By Stephanie Riegel
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has reached a settlement with a group of bondholders in its long-running bankruptcy case, removing the last remaining hurdle towards a resolution, which could come now as soon as next week.
The bondholders, who were owed nearly $30 million on a $40 million loan they made to the archdiocese in 2017 to help refinance parish debt, was opposed to the settlement plan currently up for confirmation before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill.
The plan, which would create a $230 million trust to be paid to hundreds of survivors of clergy sex abuse and establish strict new abuse protection and reporting policies, has the overwhelming support of abuse survivors.
The bondholders, however, who initially stood to receive just $3 million of the $30 million they were owed, opposed the settlement and were laying the ground work for an appeal, should Grabill confirm it.
In a sixth amended version of the proposed settlement, filed Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court, the archdiocese agreed to pay the bondholders the bulk of what they are owed, making interest only payments for 12 years, with a balloon payment due at the end 2037.
In a statement Tuesday, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said, “This is a matter of justice. We must pay our debts. I believe this is the just way to move forward for the good of survivors and the local church.”
He went on to say, “We thank the faithful for their prayers for the past five years and continue to ask for prayers for survivors of abuse.”
The development comes more than a week into a confirmation hearing on the plan, where attorneys for the archdiocese and more than 650 survivors of clergy sex abuse have been making a case before Grabill as to why the proposed settlement is the fairest and best way to end the long-running bankruptcy.
Aymond placed the nation’s second-oldest Roman Catholic Diocese under federal bankruptcy court protection in May 2020, amid a growing number of state court lawsuits alleging child sex abuse by local priests and deacons.
In the years since, the number of abuse claims filed in the bankruptcy case has topped 650 and legal fees in the case are nearly $50 million.
Last week, Aymond took the stand in the case and was grilled by an attorney for the bondholders about why the church wasn’t paying off its debt to the bondholders in full.
In his statement Tuesday, he said, “We trust that through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ the Archdiocese of New Orleans will move forward to continue sharing its mission of sharing the Gospel.”
The confirmation hearing resumes Monday, with several abuse survivors scheduled to take the stand and tell their stories on Tuesday. Closing arguments are set for Dec. 4.
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate.com.