BUFFALO (NY)
WIVB [Buffalo NY]
March 25, 2026
By Francis Boeck
The Buffalo Catholic Diocese is revising how much it’s asking for from its parishes to help pay for the $150 million settlement that it agreed to pay last year to settle over 800 claims of sexual abuse.
In a letter to diocesan priests this week, Bishop Michael Fisher said the diocese is eliminating the 80 percent contribution expectation for merging parishes and increasing the diocese’s contribution from $30 million to $40 million.
A parish’s requested contribution will now will be based on their total available cash – after consolidating the balances of the two (or more) merged parishes – as well as for the parishes not merging.
Back in June, the diocese had asked parishes to contribute a total of $80 million toward the settlement. Contributions from parishes were to range from 10 to 80 percent based on a “progressive percentage” of each parish’s self-reported and unrestricted assets as of August 2024. All parishes that were set to merge had to contribute 80 percent.
“We regard this as a more equitable approach in keeping with essential canonical consideration,” Fisher said in the letter.
The rest of the contributions are expected to come from affiliate Catholic organizations, proceeds from real estate sales and coverages by diocesan insurance carriers.