The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to settle sexual abuse claims dating back decades, making it the largest single child sex abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese.
Archbishop José H. Gomez expressed apologies, stating, “I am sorry for every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart,” and hoped that the settlement would provide some measure of healing for the survivors of abuse.
The big picture: The settlement was reached with 1,353 individuals who allege suffering abuse at the hands of local Catholic priests after months of negotiations.
- The Plaintiffs’ Liaison Committee attorneys emphasized that the settlement allows for justice in accountability, although no amount of money can replace what victims have endured.
- The settlement involves a process to allocate the settlement amount among the participants, independent of the archdiocese.
Go deeper: This settlement caps a quarter-century of litigation against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is known as the most populous archdiocese in the United States.
- Including previous payouts, the total settlement amount exceeds $1.5 billion, with the funds coming from archdiocese investments, accumulated reserves, bank financing, and assets of other entities named in the litigation.
