New York Archdiocese Sells Hotel Land to Pay Out $800 Million Dollars to 1,300 Sex Abuse Survivors

Archbishop Ronald Hicks Confirms Settlement With $250,000 Per Survivor as Lotte Palace Hotel Land Sold for $490 Million

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has proposed an 800 million dollar settlement for 1,300 sex abuse survivors who were victimised as children by priests and lay staff. Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks confirmed the offer on 1 May 2026.

Each survivor will receive a minimum of 250,000 dollars if the settlement, mediated by retired California Judge Daniel J. Buckley, is unanimously accepted.

New York Catholic Sex Abuse Settlement Funded by Hotel Land Sale

To pay for the settlement, the archdiocese has been forced to take radical steps. It sold the land beneath the Lotte New York Palace Hotel for 490 million dollars in December 2025, liquidated the majority of its real estate holdings, slashed staff, and made deep operational cuts. The settlement requires the archdiocese to publicly disclose information about accused offenders on its website and maintain a list of bishops, priests, and deacons with credible abuse allegations.

Lawyers Jeff Anderson and Trusha Goffe, representing 300 plaintiffs, urged acceptance. One survivor said simply: "this is the light at the end of the tunnel, six years of waiting and wondering coming to an end." But not every survivor agreed. Another reported that survivors were being "bullied" into approval because the settlement requires unanimous agreement to proceed.

The Crusader's Opinion

Eight hundred million dollars cannot undo what was done to 1,300 children by men who claimed to act in the name of Christ. The Catholic Church's child sex abuse crisis is one of the gravest scandals in two thousand years of Christian history, and every Catholic must own that. The Archdiocese of New York is finally selling its real estate empire to pay survivors what cannot ever be paid. Disclosure of accused offenders is non negotiable. Restoration of trust is generational work. The Church of Christ must lead in protecting children, never in covering up their abusers.

Take Action

• Support: Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)
• Read: The archdiocese's required public list of credibly accused clergy
• Pray: For all 1,300 survivors and for justice that exceeds settlement money
• Contact: Your diocese demanding transparency standards equal to or stronger than New York's
• Share: The settlement story and call for systemic Church reform on child protection