Diocese of Camden, NJ reaches $180 million abuse settlement

The Diocese of Camden in the U.S. state of New Jersey has announced an agreement to pay a $180 million settlement to more than 300 survivors of clerical sexual abuse.

The news came on Tuesday in a letter from Bishop Joseph A. Williams, who said the proposed plan would see the establishment of a $180 million fund for victims to be supported by the diocese, diocesan parishes, and insurers.

The planned fund is more than twice the $87.5 million settlement the diocese reached in 2022 to resolve abuse claims and is the result of an accord reached between the diocese and claimants’ attorneys on one side and hold-out insurance carriers on the other, after a years-long dispute arising from the abuse claims.

The Camden diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020, and the agreement announced Tuesday must be approved by the bankruptcy court.

“For the survivors,” Williams said in a letter to the faithful and clergy of the Camden diocese on Tuesday, “this day is long overdue.”

Williams said the settlement agreement “represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve.”

Williams thanked survivors for their courage in coming forward.

“Without your bravery and persistence,” the bishop said, “this new day would not have dawned.”

“I am profoundly sorry for what you have suffered,” Williams told victims, calling their suffering the result of “grave sin and a devastating betrayal of the trust you placed in the Church that you loved.”

In 2022, the Diocese of Camden agreed to pay a $87.5 million settlement for the sexual abuse claims.

A statement from the Lowenstein Sandler law firm representing plaintiffs on Tuesday said the new agreement supplements that earlier settlement.

Lowenstein partner Jeffrey D. Prol said he was “in awe of the fortitude of these survivors, who have waited years to receive compensation for the horrible wrongs they have suffered.”

“We are honored to have stood with them throughout this portion of their protracted struggle,” Prol said, “and we are hopeful that resolving this bankruptcy case will prove to be a step forward in their personal recovery journeys.”

For his part, Williams said he has “been humbled these past months by the trust” victims have shown him and others in the Camden diocese, with whom the victims have shared their stories.

“They were at once heart-breaking and awe-inspiring,” Williams said.

“You are living witnesses of the truth that where sin abounds grace abounds even more,” Wiliiams said to survivors, expressing hope that, “as more of the faithful of South Jersey hear your stories, you will become prophets of a stronger and more transparent Church.”