Brooklyn Diocese to Pay Massive Settlement for 1,100 Sex Abuse Claims

The diocese will unload real estate to raise funds for the historic settlement.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The Brooklyn Diocese has agreed to negotiate a 'global' settlement to compensate 1,100 people who have accused priests and staff members of child sex abuse, a figure that will likely run into hundreds of millions of dollars. The payouts for the cases, 90% of which go back more than 50 years to the 1970s and 60s, will be a huge financial blow to the diocese, forcing them to unload real estate to raise the settlement money.

Why it matters

This settlement is part of a larger reckoning within the Catholic Church over decades of child sexual abuse by clergy and staff. The Brooklyn Diocese settlement is one of the largest in the country, highlighting the immense financial and reputational toll these abuse cases have taken on dioceses across the United States.

The details

The Diocese's Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which began in 2017, has already paid over 500 victim-survivors more than $100 million. Bishop Robert Brennan said the payout cash will not come from parishioner donations, but rather the diocese is 'cost-cutting and setting aside significant funds to compensate victim-survivors' which 'entails difficult financial choices.' The diocese has retained several law firms and financial advisors to facilitate the global settlement process, and has appointed retired Judge Daniel Buckley and lawyer Paul Finn as neutral mediators.

  • The Child Victims Act of 2019 in New York allowed child sex abuse survivors to bring civil lawsuits against abusers and institutions that protected them until the survivor reaches the age of 55.
  • The Diocese's Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program began in 2017.

The players

Brooklyn Diocese

A Roman Catholic diocese that serves 1.3 million Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens, New York.

Bishop Robert Brennan

The current bishop of the Brooklyn Diocese who is overseeing the settlement process.

Daniel Buckley

A retired Los Angeles judge who will serve as a neutral mediator to facilitate the resolution process.

Paul Finn

A lawyer who will serve as a neutral mediator to facilitate the resolution process, having previously mediated hundreds of sex abuse claims against other Catholic dioceses.

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What they’re saying

“To facilitate this global resolution, the Diocese is cost-cutting and setting aside significant funds to compensate victim-survivors. The process of marshalling these funds entails difficult financial choices, but the Diocese is committed to fairly compensating all meritorious claims.”

— Bishop Robert Brennan (nypost.com)

“The funds used to make these settlements, and future ones, have not and will not come from your donations to the Diocese or from your parish offerings.”

— Bishop Robert Brennan (nypost.com)

What’s next

The diocese's lawyers have begun the settlement process with attorneys representing hundreds of victim-survivors, and the parties have agreed to use retired Judge Daniel Buckley and lawyer Paul Finn as neutral mediators to facilitate the resolution.

The takeaway

This historic settlement by the Brooklyn Diocese is part of the Catholic Church's ongoing reckoning with decades of child sexual abuse by clergy and staff. The massive financial toll these cases have taken on dioceses across the country has forced many, including the Brooklyn Diocese, to make difficult financial decisions to compensate victims and survivors.