The Diocese of Camden, NJ, said Tuesday it had agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims filed by hundreds of people accusing clerics of sexually abusing them, one of the largest such settlements involving the Catholic Church in the United States.
In what may be a first for such lawsuits, the final payout to the plaintiffs could be significantly higher, lawyers representing them said, as the settlement allows for further lawsuits against insurance companies for the diocese and related entities such as parishes and schools.
“This is a victory of courage, with all credit to the survivors for remaining united and strong,” said Jeff Anderson, attorney for about a quarter of the 300 or so plaintiffs.
In a statement announcing the settlement, Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, the leader of the diocese, said: “I would like to extend my sincere apologies to all those affected by sexual abuse in our diocese.
“My prayers go out to all survivors of abuse,” added Bishop Sullivan, “and I pledge my continued commitment to ensure that this terrible chapter in the history of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, never happens again.”
The agreement comes about three years after New Jersey became one of the states to extend the statute of limitations for the law so that people who said they had been sexually abused as children could file a lawsuit. New York took a similar step the same year.
The settlement also follows a 2020 bankruptcy filing by the diocese, which has 62 parishes and serves approximately 500,000 Catholics in six southern New Jersey counties. That request came amid a growing number of abuse claims.
By this time, Bishop Sullivan had named 56 priests and a deacon associated with the Camden Diocese who had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse. The revelation was part of a wider disclosure by Catholic bishops in New Jersey that nearly 200 priests had been accused of committing such abuse in the state.
Under the terms of the settlement, the $87.5 million will go to a trust and will be paid out over four years, according to the diocese’s statement. Individual payouts will vary, plaintiffs’ attorneys said, but the average per person would be around $300,000.
According to the parties, the settlement also calls for the maintenance or improvement of child protection. Since the agreement is written into the diocese’s bankruptcy, a judge’s approval is required.
Mr. Anderson said the diocese, its parishes and associated entities, and the insurance companies representing them had tried to force an unsatisfactory settlement by seeking judicial approval without obtaining the consent of the plaintiffs.
According to him, the plaintiffs and the diocese eventually reached a settlement that did not involve the insurance companies. As part of the agreement, the diocese, its parishes and related entities such as schools gave the claimants the right to file claims against the insurers.
That meant the trial would continue, with the potential to significantly increase the amount of money the plaintiffs eventually receive, Mr. Anderson, a veteran in similar cases. He said this aspect of the settlement was a first in his experience.
The Diocese of Camden is one of about 30 dioceses and Catholic orders in the United States that have filed for bankruptcy, according to the website BishopAccountability.org, which tracks abuse cases against the church.
In New York, the dioceses in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Rockville Center on Long Island have also filed for bankruptcy. All of them face multiple abuse claims, just like New Jersey’s other four dioceses.
According to figures collected by BishopAccountability.org, the preliminary Camden settlement is among the top five payouts in abuse cases involving the Catholic Church in the United States. It is more than the $84 million paid out by the Diocese of Boston in 2003, but lower than the settlement figures in lawsuits in California and Oregon.
Jeffrey D. Prol, the attorney for the commission representing the plaintiffs in connection with the bankruptcy, said in a statement that his clients “are pleased to have found a consensual solution to their disputes with the diocese.”
In a separate interview, Mr. Prol said that satisfaction was not just related to financial compensation.
“For the survivors, it’s not about the money,” he said. “This is about making sure their voices are heard and making sure this never happens again.”
