Diocese of Rockville Centre clergy sex abuse bankruptcy settlement officially approved by judge

A four-year court battle to resolve hundreds of clergy sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church on Long Island came to an end Wednesday as survivors and the church officially signed off on a $323 million settlement.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn declared he was "extremely pleased” to confirm the agreement between about 600 survivors and the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the eighth-largest Catholic diocese in the nation.

The settlement is one of the largest in the United States for Catholic dioceses in bankruptcy because of the clergy sex abuse scandal, officials said. Nearly 99% of survivors who cast votes on the deal approved of it, they said.

James Stang, the lead attorney for the survivors, saluted their bravery in coming forward even though in many cases they had never told their families, friends or co-workers about abuse that in some cases took place decades ago.

The survivors "epitomized the human spirit that could not be quashed by abuse that they suffered, some as young as four years old,” he said in court. "They put everything on the table.”

The abuse cases date back as far as the diocese’s founding in 1957. Attorneys for the church and the Long Island survivors said they expect payments to start to be issued soon.

The two sides announced the agreement on Sept. 26. The court hearing came after weeks of finalizing details and resolving outstanding issues.

Legal fees incurred during the yearslong negotiations have surpassed $100 million, according to court papers and attorneys for the survivors.

The court hearing in Manhattan on Wednesday ended a contentious saga that saw Glenn bring in two mediators to help the sides reach an agreement. 

During negotiations, the diocese had offered a $200 million settlement, while attorneys for the survivors had sought $450 million.

Glenn said Wednesday that he was pleased a deal was reached that will also allow the church to continue its work in parishes, schools and other areas.

The diocese declared bankruptcy in October 2020, saying it faced financial ruin because of potential payments from the 2019 New York State Child Victims Act.

That law opened a one-year window — later extended to two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic — that allowed victims to file lawsuits against people who sexually abused them when they were children regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.

Hundreds of cases that had been filed in civil court against the church were transferred to U.S. bankruptcy court after the diocese filed for bankruptcy.

The diocese, home to 1.2 million baptized Catholics, sold off its headquarters in Rockville Centre and 200 acres of land surrounding its seminary in Lloyd Harbor to help pay for the settlement. It also required its 134 parishes to contribute to the settlement.

The diocese declined to say how much each parish is paying, or the total amount. Some pastors have divulged the figure in their parishes’ weekly bulletins. St. Mary’s in Manhasset, for instance, is paying $4.5 million, its pastor wrote. Others are paying substantially less.

As part of the settlement, all the parishes are also briefly declaring bankruptcy partially to protect them from future lawsuits linked to clergy sex abuse. Those proceedings should take about 48 hours and not affect regular operations, church officials said.