纽约总教区8亿美元性侵和解获约1300名幸存者一致批准：全美天主教总教区第二大赔偿，定11月6日当周签约
幸存者一方的律师10月24日宣布，约1,300名指控曾遭天主教纽约总教区（Archdiocese of New York）神职人员及平信徒工作人员性侵的索赔人，已一致批准一项总额8亿美元的和解。总主教 Ronald Hicks 同日致信总教区神职人员确认，教会已与全体原告及其律师达成谅解；协议尚待正式签署，签约定于11月6日当周举行。若完成签署，这项和解将终结围绕这批索赔持续七年多的诉讼。据路透社报道，这是美国天主教总教区达成的第二大性侵赔偿和解，仅次于洛杉矶总教区2024年达成的8.8亿美元和解。
这项和解源于双方今年5月达成的框架：总教区当时同意支付8亿美元，但框架要求每一名提出索赔的幸存者都批准才生效，本周宣布的一致批准满足了这一条件。代理其中300名幸存者的 Jeff Anderson & Associates 律师事务所称，和解是总教区与原告联络委员会历经约10个月密集谈判的成果。除8亿美元赔偿外，总教区还同意公开与教会内性侵者相关的文件；幸存者同时保留向教会保险公司另行索赔、争取更多赔偿的权利。这项安排也使纽约总教区得以避免破产。
Jeff Anderson 在声明中说：「向纽约总教区提出索赔的幸存者达成一致意见，标志着追求正义道路上一个有力的时刻。幸存者们凭借勇气、牺牲与决心，推动了一场清算，朝着问责迈出了有意义的一步。」Hicks 在写给神职人员的邮件中说：「我们即将能够——愿上帝允许——为所有受害幸存者带来某种程度的疗愈与和解。」他表示，这项协议也将使总教区重新把全部注意力放回其使命：宣讲福音、医治病者、照顾穷人与有需要的人、迎接陌生人、教育儿童。
这批索赔源于纽约州2019年通过的《儿童受害者法》（Child Victims Act），该法一度放宽时效、允许幸存者就数十年前的侵害提起诉讼，全美多个州随后出台类似法律，天主教会已在全美支付数十亿美元和解金。比较近年同类和解：洛杉矶总教区2024年除8.8亿美元和解外，此前已就相关索赔支付7.4亿美元；旧金山总教区今年6月就约500宗诉讼达成3.95亿美元和解；新奥尔良总教区的至少2.3亿美元和解于2025年12月获联邦法官批准。纽约总教区覆盖 New York 市的 Bronx、Manhattan 与 Staten Island 三区及市以北七个县，辖约300座教堂、150多所教会学校与约250万名天主教徒。
New York Archdiocese $800 Million Abuse Settlement Wins Unanimous Approval From About 1,300 Survivors, Second-Largest for a U.S. Archdiocese
Lawyers for the survivors announced on October 24 that about 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused by clergy and lay workers of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York have unanimously approved an $800 million settlement of their claims. Archbishop Ronald Hicks confirmed the development the same day in an email to archdiocesan clergy, writing that the archdiocese had reached an understanding with all of the plaintiffs and their attorneys; the agreement is not final until it is signed, with signing scheduled for the week of November 6. The deal would end more than seven years of lawsuits. According to Reuters, it is the second-largest abuse settlement by a U.S. Catholic archdiocese, behind only the $880 million settlement reached by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2024.
The settlement grows out of a framework agreed in May, under which the archdiocese agreed to pay $800 million but required every claimant to sign off; this week's unanimous approval satisfies that condition. Jeff Anderson & Associates, which represents 300 of the survivors, said the settlement followed about 10 months of intensive negotiations between the archdiocese and the Plaintiffs' Liaison Committee. In addition to the $800 million, the archdiocese agreed to release documents pertaining to sexual offenders in the Church, and survivors retain the right to litigate against the Church's insurers for additional payouts. The arrangement also allows the archdiocese to avoid bankruptcy.
"The unanimous agreement of survivors who filed claims against the Archdiocese of New York marks a powerful moment in the pursuit of justice," Jeff Anderson said in a statement. "Through their courage, sacrifice, and determination, survivors have helped bring about a reckoning and a meaningful step toward accountability." In his email to priests, Hicks wrote: "We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors." He said the agreement would also allow the archdiocese to turn its full attention once again to its mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, caring for the poor and needy, welcoming the stranger, and educating our children.
The claims stem from New York's Child Victims Act of 2019, which temporarily enabled survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits over decades-old crimes; other states enacted similar laws, and the Catholic Church has paid billions of dollars in settlements across the United States in recent years. By comparison, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had previously paid $740 million in claims in addition to its 2024 settlement; the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed in June to a $395 million settlement over about 500 lawsuits; and a federal judge approved in December 2025 a settlement of at least $230 million by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Archdiocese of New York covers the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island plus seven counties north of the city, with about 300 churches, more than 150 parochial schools and about 2.5 million Catholics.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：美国纽约 Manhattan 的圣帕特里克大教堂（St. Patrick's Cathedral），纽约总教区主教座堂，右侧为洛克菲勒中心 Atlas 雕像（资料图）。图：Jean-Christophe BENOIST，CC BY 3.0，经维基共享资源
