Hundreds of victims sexually molested by the church will get $87.5 million (£67.04 million) from the Catholic Diocese of New Jersey.

NJ Church

In a first, the agreement allows for lawsuits against insurance companies that cover bishops against claims of negligence.

It is one of the most significant settlements involving the Catholic Church in the United States, which has been accused of concealing decades of wrongdoing. The diocese has issued an apology.

The settlement payments will be dispersed over four years from a trust to around 300 victims of abuse, according to the diocese. It will also contain kid protection provisions that are currently being worked out.

The diocese and the victims’ counsel have agreed to the deal, but it still has to be confirmed by a judge because the diocese declared bankruptcy in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak and abuse allegations.

Bishop Dennis J Sullivan, on the other hand, was “pleased that the mediation process resulted in a settlement.”

“I vow my unwavering dedication to ensuring that this heinous chapter in the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey’s history never repeats again,” he continued.

Another factor, according to Jeff Anderson, a lawyer who represents 74 of the victims, was that the payment was “unprecedented.”

In the United States, dioceses and archdioceses are incorporated as businesses, which means they buy general liability insurance to defend themselves from claims of negligence. According to Mr Anderson, this can amount to “tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Insurance companies have been a part of prior abuse settlements with US Catholic organisations, and they have frequently refused to pay the entire sum asked by victims. The New Jersey agreement, on the other hand, is the first time a church abuse settlement has excluded insurers, allowing the companies to be sued individually.

As a result, victims would be able to pursue lawsuits for more compensation. Because of the potential to bring the church and its insurers to more responsibility, Mr Anderson termed it “a pivot in the child protection movement.”

Since the 1980s, US Catholic dioceses have received over 17,000 complaints from claimed victims and have paid out over $4 billion in settlements. In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid $660 million to more than 500 victims in the biggest settlement.