NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times [New York NY]
June 15, 2026
By Maya King and Jeffery C. Mays
The proposed settlement would pay $250,000 to each of the 1,300 people who have sued the Archdiocese of New York over sexual abuse claims. But for any of them to get the deal, all must agree to take it.
For decades, Anthony Santucci told no one about the sexual abuse he says he endured as a young teenager at his Catholic church in the Bronx.
Distressing flashbacks, omnipresent anxiety and poor sleep hygiene have followed him for nearly 50 years, through his adolescence into adulthood. He blames leaders of his church and the Archdiocese of New York for failing to protect him and other children from priests like the one who he says abused him.
Mr. Santucci, 66, is one of the more than 1,300 people who have sued the archdiocese over sexual abuse claims and will soon face a monumental choice: accept the terms of an $800 million proposed settlement with the archdiocese or risk fighting it out in court, an option that would most likely lead the archdiocese to declare bankruptcy.
Under the terms of the proposal, the plaintiffs can choose a one-time lump sum of $250,000 or go before an arbitrator to seek a higher payment after a review of their abuse claims. The Archdiocese of New York would also be required to publish the names of clergy and lay leaders who were credibly accused of abuse on its website and update the list as more allegations come out. The archdiocese would also be mandated to keep copies of documented cases of abuse, where they can be reviewed by the public at Iona College.
“Money alone is not enough,” said Angela Walker, executive director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, an advocacy group for church sexual abuse survivors. “Perpetrators have to be held to account, but not only the perpetrators, those who protected them throughout the years, who moved them from diocese to diocese.”
“That whole culture of silence, that hiding behind the shadows, that’s got to stop,” Ms. Walker added. “The public demands and has the right to know who these people are, and in that way we can protect another generation of children.”
In order for the settlement to move forward, all the plaintiffs must accept its terms by a deadline that has been set for late June. It is unclear whether all of them will, though lawyers representing a majority of them say they have advised their clients to do so. After consulting with his lawyer, Mr. Santucci said that he is likely to accept the archdiocese’s proposal.
“I think it’s the best that the plaintiffs could hope for. Is it ideal? No,” he said. “It’s been a long, arduous struggle to reach this point.”
The proposed settlement represents a pivotal moment for both the plaintiffs and the nation’s foremost and perhaps most well-known Catholic institution. For many plaintiffs, the terms of the settlement, including the required disclosures about clergy abuse, mark an important first step toward restitution. If approved, the settlement would close a long period of litigation and open a new chapter in which the Archdiocese of New York would begin to rectify the harm caused when its clergy and lay leaders failed to properly discipline priests and lay staff accused of abuse.
Jim Clemente, 66, a former prosecutor and F.B.I. agent who says he was abused by his counselor at a Catholic camp in 1975, said that he hopes the settlement sets a precedent.
“It is critically important to us that they take responsibility for what they did because we’ve had to grow up with that stigma attached to all this built-in shame,” said Mr. Clemente, who wore a listening device to help build a case against the man who he says abused him.
“The fact that they are willing to make this settlement and not fight every case in court for the next however many years, tells me at least they’re willing to admit that they did something wrong, and hopefully, that also means that they’re not going to ever do it again,” he added.
If the settlement falls through and the archdiocese files for bankruptcy, it could set off years of uncertainty and pain for aging plaintiffs, some of whom have waited for more than two generations to see the church face consequences for its self-acknowledged failure to protect children. It would almost certainly lower the amount of money that plaintiffs would receive in any future settlement.
The eight law firms representing more than 70 percent of the 1,300 plaintiffs have said they are receiving positive responses from their clients about accepting the settlement. Jeff Anderson, whose firm represents almost 300 plaintiffs, said the response from his clients has been “near unanimous” in favor of the settlement. Herman Law, which represents 270 plaintiffs, said its clients were “overwhelmingly supportive” of the deal.
One plaintiff, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from the church and also to avoid pressure from other plaintiffs, said they were pushing back against a settlement because of the proposal’s requirement that every single plaintiff agree to the same terms. They worried about whether the most severely abused would be properly compensated.
Mr. Anderson, who said the process had been “as brutal as any litigation that we’ve had in the last 40 years,” said that he was recommending that plaintiffs accept the settlement — “not because it’s a great deal,” he said, “but because it’s the best deal that can be gotten.”
An analysis of the archdiocese’s outstanding liability, its assets, insurance coverage and the exposure to other sexual abuse claims not included in this settlement led Mr. Anderson and other lawyers to determine that the terms of the settlement were the best possible outcome. Lawyers for the plaintiffs believe that bankruptcy could mean some of the documents the church would have released under the proposed settlement will not see the light of day.
Bankruptcy, Mr. Anderson, added, “has been largely a disaster for survivors and a powerful tool for wrongdoers and the Catholic dioceses that have chosen to go there.”
Of New York’s eight dioceses, six have declared bankruptcy after sexual abuse litigations and several of the country’s largest Catholic archdiocese who have settled suits have later filed for bankruptcy.
If the settlement is approved, the church may still struggle producing the required $800 million. Over the past year, the archdiocese has sold off some of its most valuable properties and decreased its staff size by 10 percent.
In April, archdiocese leaders held a meeting with its priests where they disclosed that individual parishes would be expected to help fund the settlement. Few details have been provided since that meeting, according to priests who attended, including whether parishes will be expected to pay large lump sums or percentages of their earnings.
Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said it is making “good progress” toward reaching a settlement with the plaintiffs and that the archdiocese is continuing to hold meetings with clergy and lay staff at parishes to discuss their “voluntary contribution to the settlement fund.” He described their responses as positive and said decisions about how much to donate to the settlement would be decided by each parish.
“We continue to look forward to being able to compensate victim-survivors in the fastest, most comprehensive manner possible, without the need for painful litigation for the victim-survivors, and to promote healing and reconciliation for them and their families and loved ones,” Mr. Zwilling said. “We are committed to doing so now with our own assets while seeking legal redress against our insurer, Chubb, to honor its insurance commitments to the archdiocese for these claims.”
The settlement leaves open the possibility for plaintiffs to pursue claims against Chubb, the archdiocese’s insurance company. The archdiocese is suing Chubb, which has refused to cover the sexual abuse claims against the church. A court-appointed referee ruled recently that Chubb’s chief executive could be deposed, a process that lawyers representing the plaintiffs would seek to participate in.
In a statement, a Chubb spokesman said that the archdiocese had refused to disclose details of the settlement, which Chubb believes it is entitled to as the insurer, and defended the decision to fight the church’s claims. “The Archdiocese of New York’s top priority should be compensating deserving victims,” the statement said. “The insurance policies issued to the archdiocese covered accidents, not the admitted concealment of criminal sexual abuse of children over decades.”
The archdiocese’s proposal coincides with a new era for the church in New York. In January Bishop Ronald Hicks was installed as its newest archbishop, after Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who led the archdiocese for more than 16 years, submitted his retirement at age 75. Cardinal Dolan, who now works part-time as a chaplain for the New York Police Department, helped lead settlement negotiations and oversaw the sale of the church’s most valuable properties to finance it.
Several plaintiffs see the archdiocese’s leadership as bearing the most responsibility for the abuse they say they suffered. They also have tried to cite emotional damage and loss of faith in the cases they have brought against the church, saying that they were targeted because they were the most devout and thus the least likely to speak out.
“That’s what’s different about abuse in the Catholic Church,” said Paul Mones, a veteran lawyer whose Los Angeles-based firm and co-counsel represent 33 of the plaintiffs against the archdiocese and has represented sexual abuse survivors for more than 40 years. “It’s inextricably tied to a foundation of life, which is faith.”
For plaintiffs like Mr. Clemente, who said a priest whom he confided in about the abuse advised him to tell no one, the settlement is about preventing future generations from experiencing his pain.
“I have a lot of brothers and sisters and friends who are still very devout Catholics,” Mr. Clemente said. “This will give me the ability to stand up and say to them, ‘They admitted what they did was wrong. You have to make sure that they don’t let this happen again.’”
And for Mr. Santucci, settling with the church could offer something he has not had for a long time: closure.
“Hopefully,” he said, “this will provide some comfort to all of us.”
Maya King is a Times reporter who writes about the intersection of politics, religion and ritual in New York City.
Jeffery C. Mays is a Times reporter covering politics with a focus on New York City Hall.