The ecclesiastical district aims to resolve the matter outside of court to prevent “emotional stress for victim – survivors”
The Brooklyn Diocese, which has already shelled out over $100 million to the victims, has declared that it will go for a “comprehensive resolution” to settle the remaining 1,100 child sexual abuse lawsuits brought against its Roman Catholic priests and employees.
In a letter on Thursday, Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan stated that the diocese will start “reducing costs and setting aside substantial funds to compensate victim – survivors.”
“The process of gathering these funds involves tough financial decisions, but the Diocese is dedicated to fairly compensating all valid claims,” he said. He also claimed that the victims’ lawyers agreed that an out – of – court settlement will save “time, money, and the emotional stress for victim – survivors that would result from individual trials.”
The New York Post reported on Thursday that the settlement is anticipated to deal a severe financial blow, compelling the diocese to sell real estate to raise what will probably be hundreds of millions of dollars.
The diocese has already paid more than $100 million to over 500 sexual abuse survivors under its Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which started in 2017. Brennan emphasized in his letter that none of the payouts have come and will not come from parishioners’ donations.
Brennan’s ecclesiastical district serves around 1.3 million Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. Most of the lawsuits the diocese is facing date back to the 1960s and 1970s.
In December, the neighboring Archdiocese of New York, which supervises the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, agreed to pay $300 million to compensate about 1,300 people who have accused its clergy and staff of sexual abuse.