Catholic News

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Rochester, New York. / Credit: DanielPenfield via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

CNA Staff, Jul 30, 2025 / 16:39 pm (CNA).

Hundreds of clergy abuse victims agreed to a massive settlement from the Diocese of Rochester, New York, this week, bringing the diocese's yearslong bankruptcy proceedings closer to an end. 

Documents obtained by CNA show a near-unanimous vote in favor of accepting the diocese's proposed $246 million settlement plan, with just a handful of "abstain" votes and none voting against it. 

The payment comes after years of wrangling in U.S. bankruptcy court as the diocese, the survivors, and diocesan insurance providers worked to come to a settlement amount on which all of them could agree. 

In 2022 the diocese said it would pay $55 million into a settlement fund, with Bishop Salvatore Matano noting that "additional recoveries" could come from diocesan insurers. 

Earlier this month Continental Insurance Co. agreed to pay $120 million into the settlement fund, bringing the total contributions from the diocese, its parishes, and insurers up to the $246 million figure. 

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Warren said in court this week that he intended to approve the agreement in September. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the diocese said it was "hopeful that the bankruptcy plan will be approved … and help to ease the hurt and suffering of the survivors, who have endured this painful process for six years." The diocese first filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

"We pray that they will know the peace of Jesus and their faith, so scarred by those who so betrayed their trust, will be restored in Our Lord who is our ultimate hope," the statement said. 

The settlement, once it has been approved, will be among the larger payouts of any U.S. diocese for an abuse or bankruptcy proceeding.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, holds the record for the largest diocesan payout in the U.S. so far after it agreed last year to a $323 million settlement.

The U.S. record for any diocese or archdiocese, meanwhile, was set by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, also last year, when it agreed to an $880 million payout. 

In some cases parishioners have legally challenged the terms of diocesan bankruptcy settlements. Catholics in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, earlier this month convinced the state Supreme Court to issue a temporary halt on settlement payments the diocese is requiring of parishes. The Vatican is currently considering a dispute over parish mergers there. 

Dioceses and archdioceses pay for settlements from a variety of sources, including parish contributions, insurance payouts, and the sale of diocesan property.

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