Clergy abuse accuser says Archdiocese of New York settlement offer leaves little choice

Joseph Caramanno sued the Archdiocese of New York in August 2019, alleging that Msgr. John Paddack sexually abused him as a child. Paddack is the accused priest in the suit, and the allegations have not been adjudicated. In a May 2024 report, Caramanno said of the archdiocese’s settlement offer, “There’s not much of a choice.”

Reports differ on the size and status of the proposed resolution. Bloomberg Law reported that the archdiocese sought approval from its insurer, Chubb Ltd., to explore settling up to 1,700 child sex abuse claims for as much as $2 billion. The Guardian separately reported that the archdiocese had announced a $300 million fund to settle claims by survivors of clergy sexual abuse. These accounts describe proposals and fund announcements, not a final agreement.

Later reports described a larger settlement. According to 2oceansvibe.com, the archdiocese and legal representatives of approximately 1,300 individuals reached a settlement totaling $800 million. France 24 and the New York Post reported a similar figure, with the New York Post stating that the archdiocese had agreed to pay more than $800 million to settle claims from 1,300 individuals. The Daily News reported that the settlement covered individuals who allege sexual abuse by clergy members and lay leaders. The Guardian, in a separate report, said the archdiocese was finalizing a settlement of at least $800 million with more than 1,300 individuals making such allegations. Reports variously described the agreement as reached, agreed, or still being finalized, and the sources do not settle which description is accurate at the time of each report.

Inkl.com reported that, under the $800 million sexual abuse settlement, the Archdiocese of New York would name accused priests and open internal files. The sources provided do not include the names of any accused clergy beyond Paddack, and they do not describe the contents of those files. Another report, from Register Citizen, began to describe an agreement between the archdiocese and survivors of clergy abuse, but the text available to this editor ends before the terms are stated.

Survivors’ claims involve allegations of serious harm, and the settlement figures in these reports concern compensation for those claims rather than findings of liability in any court. Protecting those who cannot defend themselves is central to how such claims are weighed (Proverbs 31:8-9). The reports reviewed here do not describe any criminal charges, pleas, or convictions in connection with these claims.