Skip to content
Photo: Cathedral Basilica of St. James; via Wikipedia.
The Diocese of Brooklyn has announced it will enter mediation with more than 1,000 individuals who say they were sexually abused as minors by priests or church lay staff, The New York Times reported today. Church officials also confirmed plans to establish a compensation fund expected to total hundreds of millions of dollars.
In a letter to parishioners, Bishop Robert Brennan acknowledged what he described as the Church’s “shameful history of sexual abuse of our young people,” offering an apology to survivors. “The impact of sexual abuse is devastating,” Brennan wrote. “As your bishop, I again offer my deepest apologies to all the victim survivors.”
The diocese named two mediators to oversee the process: Daniel J. Buckley, a retired California judge, and Paul A. Finn, a Boston-based attorney with decades of experience resolving sexual abuse cases. Buckley was previously appointed to mediate similar disputes involving Catholic institutions, including ongoing claims connected to the Archdiocese of New York.
The Brooklyn Diocese, which includes Queens, currently faces more than 1,100 lawsuits. Many claims were filed after New York’s Child Victims Act took effect in 2019, temporarily lifting statute of limitations barriers for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Some allegations date back to the early 1950s.
New York’s legal reforms — including the Adult Survivors Act in 2022 — triggered thousands of lawsuits statewide against religious institutions. In response, most Catholic dioceses in New York filed for bankruptcy protection. Brooklyn is among the few dioceses pursuing large-scale settlements without filing for bankruptcy.
According to Robert Giuffra Jr., counsel for the diocese, settlement funding will primarily come from the sale of Church-owned real estate. Giuffra stated that parish donations would not be used to compensate survivors.
Diocese spokesperson Adriana Rodriguez said mediation is intended to accelerate resolutions. “If we don’t head in this direction, we’ll be in court for another decade,” Rodriguez said. “Victim survivors need closure.”
Reactions among survivors’ attorneys were mixed. Some praised the mediation effort as overdue progress, while others criticized the announcement as a delayed response after years of litigation. Jeff Anderson, whose firm represents hundreds of survivors, said the Church could have pursued mediation much earlier.
Under the proposed structure, mediators will work alongside a committee of plaintiffs’ attorneys to evaluate claims. Settlement amounts may vary based on factors such as available documentation, corroborating evidence, and the severity and duration of the alleged abuse.
For survivors, the mediation process may offer a path to compensation while preserving privacy and avoiding prolonged courtroom proceedings. However, some advocates caution that survivors should carefully review settlement terms before agreeing to participate.
If you or someone you love experienced sexual abuse within a church, school, or other institution, you may have the right to pursue compensation and accountability.
Learn about institutional sexual abuse lawsuits →
