The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has reached a historic $880 million settlement for hundreds of child abuse claims.
The agreement in principle announced Wednesday will settle 1,354 child sexual abuse claims, the plaintiff’s lawyer said in a news release. It is the largest child abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese.
The lawsuits were filed under California Assembly Bill 218, which lifted the statute of limitations and provided a three-year window to revive civil claims of past sexual abuse involving minors. The settlement covers the remaining claims filed against the archdiocese under the bill passed in 2019.
“The enormous amount of this settlement reflects the amount of serious harm inflicted on vulnerable children and the decades of neglect, complicity and cover-up by the Archdiocese that allowed known serial predators to inflict this harm. I encourage other religious institutions within the Catholic Church to take their responsibilities and be held accountable,” said an attorney for the victims, Morgan A. Stewart, a member of the Plaintiffs Liaison Committee.
Archbishop José H. Gomez said in a statement on behalf of the archdiocese: “I am sorry for all these incidents, from the bottom of my heart. I hope that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.
“I believe we have reached a resolution to these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivors and victims of these past abuses, while also allowing the Archdiocese to continue to provide our services to the faithful and our social programs serving the poor and vulnerable in our communities,” he said.
The settlement could mark the end of an ongoing legal battle in which the archdiocese previously paid hundreds of millions of dollars to victims.
In 2007, the archdiocese settled child abuse lawsuits involving 500 victims for $660 million. As with that settlement, the Archdiocese’s Administrative Office will assume financial responsibility for the latest settlement, which will draw on reserves, investments, loans and other assets and payments of the Archdiocese.
No specific donations to parishes or schools will be used to fund the settlement, the archdiocese said in a statement issued after the settlement was announced.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
