The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to 1,353 people who have alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests.
The settlement is the largest by a United States diocese and comes after decades of litigation with abuse stemming back even further. Victims say they were abused by priests while they were children.
In a statement on Wednesday, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez apologized while announcing the settlement.
“I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart,” Gomez said in a statement. “My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.”
A recent law enacted by California is what spurred the Archdiocese to begin meditating on the abuse claims. The new law allows for new lawsuits to be based on past instances of sexual abuse involving minors.
Similar laws across the country have sparked movement from large Catholic organizations who had otherwise been sitting on suits and not moving forward. The laws have also resulted in the institutions seeking bankruptcy protection, like with the dioceses of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego. All three, and more around the country, filed for bankruptcy to resolve similar abuse claims.
However, the Los Angeles Archdiocese reached its settlement without filing for bankruptcy, as Gomez says it will be able to pay victims through other means.
“We have determined that funding for this settlement will be drawn from reserves, investments, and loans, along with other Archdiocesan assets and payments that will be made by religious orders and others named in the litigation,” Gomez’s statement said. “No designated donations to parishes or schools or to archdiocesan-wide collections and campaigns ... will be used for the financing of this settlement.”
Gomez also says the payments will not impact the Archdiocese’s mission to serve “the poor and vulnerable in our communities.”
The attorneys for the Archdiocese and the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel representing the victims issued a statement on Wednesday about the settlement. In it, the group thanked those who came forward, saying it would help to ensure similar abuse will not occur moving forward.
“While there is no amount of money that can replace what was taken from these 1,353 brave individuals who have suffered in silence for decades, there is justice in accountability,” the Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel said in a joint statement.
Payments to the victims are expected to be made in 2025 and 2026.