NEW ORLEANS — The Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay nearly $180 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement announced Wednesday, the latest in a string of settlements by the Catholic Church.
The archdiocese, its parishes and several insurers will pay $179.2 million into a trust to benefit survivors, according to a statement by the committee that negotiated the agreement.
The money will be distributed after the church emerges from bankruptcy, it said.
The deal also includes what the statement called “unprecedented” provisions and procedures to safeguard against future abuse and provide services to survivors, including a survivors’ bill of rights and changes to the Archdiocese’s process for handling abuse claims.
“I am grateful to God for all who have worked to reach this agreement and that we may look to the future towards a path to healing for survivors and for our local church,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond said in a statement.
The agreement, which would settle a lawsuit filed in 2020, still requires approval by the bankruptcy court, abuse survivors and other Archdiocese creditors.
The suit involves over 600 people who say they were abused by clergy. The case produced a trove of church records said to document years of abuse claims and a pattern of leaders transferring clergy without reporting their alleged crimes to law enforcement.