The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has reached a deal to pay about $800 million to roughly 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused by priests, teachers or other church workers. The agreement would close out more than seven years of lawsuits against one of the biggest dioceses in the country.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks shared the news with his clergy in an email Saturday afternoon. He wrote that the church had come to terms with survivors but cautioned that the deal is not final. The parties expect to sign the paperwork during the week of Nov. 6.

If it holds, the settlement would rank as the second-largest ever paid by a U.S. archdiocese. Only Los Angeles has paid more. In 2024 that archdiocese agreed to an $880 million deal with about 1,000 survivors on top of roughly $740 million it had already paid in earlier cases.

How the money would be paid

The outline of the agreement took shape in May. Under that framework every claimant had to sign on for the deal to move forward. Survivors can choose a guaranteed lump sum of at least $250,000 or ask for a larger award through an individual review of their claim.

Any survivors who refuse to join would share a separate pot of about $20 million funded by insurers, split evenly among them. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say they warned clients that rejecting the offer would likely push the archdiocese into bankruptcy. That path could have shrunk the payouts and stretched the court fight out even longer.

The deal also goes beyond money. The archdiocese must publish a list of priests accused of abuse and keep that list up to date. Over time it is also expected to release internal files tied to abuse claims.

A long road for survivors

Most of the cases were filed after New York passed the Child Victims Act in 2019. The law gave survivors until age 55 to sue and opened a special window that let people bring older claims through August 2021. Hundreds of New Yorkers used that window to go after the archdiocese.

Lawyers for survivors welcomed the news. Jeff Anderson, whose firm represents about 250 plaintiffs, praised the courage of the people who came forward and called the deal a reckoning for the church. Jeff Herman, who represents about 260 survivors, said the agreement brings his clients a measure of justice and vindication.

As recently as Friday a church spokesman said the two sides were not quite there yet. In his note to priests Hicks thanked the team that worked on the talks. He also credited Cardinal Timothy Dolan, his predecessor, for starting the process.

Selling property to pay the bill

The archdiocese agreed in December 2025 to enter mediation. To raise money it has cut staff and moved to sell Manhattan properties with a goal of bringing in about $300 million.

The archdiocese was founded in 1850. It covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island along with seven counties to the north. It serves about 2.5 million Catholics through some 300 churches and more than 150 parish schools.

Other dioceses have struck large deals in recent years. San Francisco agreed in June to pay $395 million to settle about 500 suits. New Orleans settled in December 2025 for at least $230 million.