Catholic Archdiocese of L.A. to pay $880 million in childhood sex abuse claims

A landmark settlement has been reached with the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to settle more than 1,300 claims of childhood sexual abuse and assault.

The agreement calls for the church to pay $880 million to settle 1,354 childhood sexual abuse claims filed against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, according to a news release from attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

The massive settlement, some of which was made possible by the enactment of California Assembly Bill 281 that provided a three-year window to revive civil claims of past sexual abuse of minors, is the largest single child sex abuse settlement with the Catholic archdiocese.

In a statement posted to X , formerly Twitter, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said:

"We will continue to be guided by the priorities of honoring our obligations to victims of past abuse while at the same time carrying out our mission to proclaim the Gospel and to serve our neighbors, not only in the present, but for generations to come."

The Archdiocese of L.A. previously settled some 500 claims of sexual abuse of minors for $660 million in 2007.

More than 3,000 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children have been filed in California against Catholic churches as a result of AB 218, attorneys said in the release.

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The dioceses of Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego have all filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of these suits.

"The massive amount of this settlement reflects the amount of grievous harm done to vulnerable children and the decades of neglect, complicity and cover-up by the Archdiocese which allowed known serial predators to inflict this harm," Morgan A. Stewart, an attorney for the victims said. "I encourage other religious institutions within the Catholic Church to meet their responsibilities and take accountability."