The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has agreed to pay $148 million to settle claims from some 440 people sexually abused by priests and diocesan employees and volunteers.
In a statement, Bishop Mark O’Connell said while the settlement is substantial, “it cannot adequately compensate the survivors for the horrors they experienced.” He added that the settlement can “hopefully provide some solace to all those affected by the pain caused by the perpetrators and the failings of those who could have intervened but did not.”
The settlement comes after child abuse survivors were allowed to file sexual abuse lawsuits as part of a look-back window created by the 2019 New York Child Victims Act. Survivors are also claimants in an ongoing federal bankruptcy case after the Albany diocese filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023.
Then-Bishop Edward Scharfenberger told reporters when announcing the bankruptcy filings that the diocese “doesn’t see any other alternative” after settling 50 child sexual abuse case, and still struggling to settle over 400 more.
Albany diocese settles hundreds of child sexual abuse cases
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