The Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to a $395 million settlement to resolve hundreds of child sexual abuse claims brought by survivors who say they were abused by clergy and other church personnel as children.
The lawsuits were filed under California Assembly Bill 218, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations, offering a three-year window to bring forward civil claims for past cases of child sexual assault. The bill also permitted treble damages against institutions that covered up abuse. This settlement resolves approximately 530 claims filed against the Archdiocese, which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023 as it faced a wave of litigation. A committee of survivors negotiated the agreement with the Archdiocese over the course of three years.
Beyond the monetary payment, the settlement requires the Archdiocese to implement a 14-point plan aimed at protecting children and increasing transparency. Among other measures, the Archdiocese must retain an independent child protection consultant with full access to its files, publicly release a list of credibly accused offenders, place a survivor on its Independent Review Board, and release survivors from existing nondisclosure agreements while banning future confidentiality agreements. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has also agreed to write a personal letter of apology to each survivor.
The settlement remains subject to a vote by survivors and approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It follows the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’s record $880 million settlement and ranks among the largest clergy abuse settlements reached with a Catholic archdiocese in California.