Archdiocese of L.A. reaches $880M child sex abuse settlement over hundreds of claims

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has reached a historic $880 million settlement over hundreds of child sex abuse claims.

The agreement in principle announced Wednesday settles 1,354 child sexual abuse claims, the plaintiffs’ attorney said in a news release. It is the largest single child sex 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 remaining claims that were filed against the Archdiocese under the bill passed in 2019.

“The massive amount of this settlement reflects the amount of grievous harm done to vulnerable children and the decades of neglect, complicity and cover-up by the Archdiocese which allowed known serial predators to inflict this harm. I encourage other religious institutions within the Catholic Church to meet their responsibilities and take accountability,” 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 every one of these incidents, from the bottom of my heart. My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered.

“I believe that we have come to a resolution of these claims that will provide just compensation to the survivor-victims of these past abuses while also allowing the Archdiocese to continue to carry out our ministries to the faithful and our social programs serving the poor and vulnerable in our communities,” he said.

The settlement could signal a close to ongoing legal battles in which the archdiocese had previously paid hundreds of millions of dollars to victims.

In 2007, the archdiocese settled child sex abuse lawsuits with 500 victims for $660 million. As with that settlement, the archdiocese’s administrative office will take financial responsibility for the most recent settlement, drawing from reserves, investments, loans and other archdiocese assets and payments.