Louisiana Archdiocese Agrees To $230 Million Settlement In Clergy Sex Abuse Case

(KHLA - Lake Charles, Louisiana) - According to lawyers for some of the survivors, the New Orleans Archdiocese approved a $230 million settlement proposal for victims of clerical sexual abuse on Monday.

In the midst of several other settlements from the Catholic Church, the agreement sets the stage for a definitive conclusion to years of negotiations.

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The group of lawyers said they objected to the archdiocese's May announcement that it would pay at least $179.2 million to address over 500 abuse accusations, arguing that it was lowballing the hundreds of survivors.

Survivors point out that the archdiocese's bankruptcy filing in May 2020 spares church leadership from having to answer difficult questions in court by not addressing each abuse claim separately. In an emailed statement, the archdiocese described the revised settlement as a "significant step forward for the benefit of all claimant survivors."

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Judge Meredith Grabill, who is in charge of the bankruptcy proceedings in federal court, has threatened to dismiss the case if the settlement is rejected.

Survivors would have to file new lawsuits to recover damages for their abuse allegations if a bankruptcy settlement didn't work out, which might take years. According to a published statement from the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, it also increases the likelihood that the archdiocese would file for bankruptcy once more in order to postpone payments. The committee encouraged survivors to accept the initial settlement offer since it represents their interests in the bankruptcy case.

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