The Archdiocese of San Francisco reached a $395 million settlement with survivors of clergy sexual abuse, according to an announcement from the one of the lawyers handling the case.
The settlement addresses claims filed by about 530 survivors against the archdiocese by creating a multi-million-dollar trust, following years of mediation between the church and the Survivors’ Creditors Committee, according to Jeff Anderson of Jeff Anderson & Associates, PA, the law firm that handled the case.
Anderson said the $395 million was “a less than full measure of accountability but stands as the largest per survivor settlement in any clerical bankruptcy.”
“This is the survivors’ brave declaration and reclamation of power. The survivors have risen up to require a real reckoning,” Anderson said in a press release.
A visitor walks inside an empty St. Dominic’s Catholic Church as California continues its statewide “stay at home order” directing the state’s 40 million residents to stay in their homes in the face of the fast-spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Francisco, California, U.S. March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
“No settlement can give these survivors back what was taken from them, but this resolution holds the Archdiocese of San Francisco to account for the lifelong harm it caused hundreds of people,” Michael Carney, a managing partner of Slater Slater Schulman, which served on the creditors’ committee, said in a press release about the settlement.
“We are proud to have helped, alongside our fellow committee members and counsel, bring about an outcome that gives our clients a measure of justice too long denied.”
Lawyers noted that for decades survivors were failed by the justice system as litigation in these cases was challenging, with a majority of the sexual abuse documented in these cases occurring decades ago.
The California General Assembly passed the Child Victims Act in 2019, which granted a temporary three-year “look-back window” for victims of childhood sexual abuse to file a civil claim that was considered expired.
As a result, hundreds of survivors filed claims against the Archdiocese of San Francisco between 2020 and 2022. In August 2023, the archdiocese announced that it would be entering into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to settle these cases.
In response to the announcement on June 29, Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore J. Cordileone issued a press release acknowledging the settlement. “We believe this proposal provides a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have borne the weight of this abuse for a lifetime.”
“While the vast majority of sexual abuse allegations associated with this bankruptcy were from many decades ago, we accept full responsibility for what happened, and I sincerely apologize to all those who have been harmed,” said Archbishop Cordileone.
“We remain committed to the healing and care of survivors who have suffered because of past sins of Church ministers. We pray for all survivors of sexual abuse, for our Archdiocese, parish communities and schools, and for the eradication of this shameful crime from our midst and from society as a whole.”
What is included in the settlement?
As an additional stipulation of the settlement, the archdiocese will be required to accept a 14-point plan aimed at creating systemic change to protect children and empower survivors.
The archdiocese must retain an independent child protection consultant who has “full access to all files and records” related to these cases, according to Jeff Anderson & Associates’ press release.
On its website, the Archdiocese of San Francisco will be required to publish the consultant’s report, create an anonymous online reporting form and post the Survivor Bill of Rights. A non-retaliation statement must also be posted on the archdiocese’s website, ensuring the protection of employees “from termination, wage reduction, or adverse action for making a report” about clergy members’ actions.
Archbishop Cordileone will also be required to write an apology to every survivor.
Additionally, a partial list of “credibly accused” offenders must be publicly released by the diocese, and the church must establish a systematic process to allow that list to updated.
The Survivor’s Committee will select a survivor to sit on the Archdiocese Independent Review Board, as past review boards have failed to follow through with an investigation of prior clergy members, Anderson said.
“This step is to require them to put somebody on there who will require a more thorough investigation of an allegation made,” Anderson said during a press conference.
Whistleblower policy within the diocese “must be amended to cover reports of childhood sexual abuse,” the press release says.
Additionally, the settlement will require the archdiocese to create a “survivor-sensitive public archive” to include survivor voices, church documents, and personnel files of accused clergy.
The archdiocese must also release all survivors from existing mandatory confidentiality agreements and ensure no future settlements can include mandatory NDAs.
The settlement would require the archdiocese to prohibit any “one-on-one texts and private digital communications between adults and children.”
The archdiocese will also be required to create new “enhanced reference check procedures” on all archdiocese personnel.
Jennifer Stein, an attorney with Jeff Anderson & Associates, PA, noted that this settlement has created “a monumental shift in power” between the Archdiocese of San Francisco and survivors.
“The Archdiocese of San Francisco used to hold the power over survivors who were abused as children by priests. Now, the survivors have the power, have the voice, and have demanded real accountability,” Stein said in a press release about the settlement.
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Archdiocese of San Francisco reaches $395M settlement with survivors