Diocese of Norwich announces $31 million fund for victims of clergy abuse

The Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich, Connecticut. / Credit: Farragutful via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

CNA Staff, Feb 18, 2025 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

The Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, has announced a settlement for survivors of clergy sex abuse, part of an ongoing bankruptcy process the diocese entered into several years ago. 

In a joint statement, the diocese — along with a committee of abuse survivors and the Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America — said they had reached “an agreement on a $31 million compensation fund,” one that will allow “meaningful recovery to survivors of sexual abuse and for the diocese to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its mission.”

The Norwich Diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2021, with then-Bishop Michael Côté stating that the bankruptcy would “centralize all litigation and oversee a settlement that ensures that all survivors are included and treated fairly.”

Hartford Archbishop Christopher Coyne, who has been serving as the Norwich apostolic administrator since Côté’s retirement in September, acknowledged last week that the “deep pain and suffering endured by survivors can never be healed by financial compensation,” but he said the diocese is “committed to making some amends through this process.”

“The Diocese of Norwich has always sought a plan that would address the needs of survivors, and we believe that this plan does just that,” Coyne said. 

Stephen Kindseth, a lawyer representing abuse victims in the proceedings, said the fund “represents a meaningful and substantial step toward justice and healing for survivors.”

“We fought hard to maximize compensation for the survivors and believe that this plan accomplishes that goal,” the attorney said. 

According to the proposal, the funds will include $2.7 million from diocesan parishes, $5.3 million from Catholic Mutual Relief, and about $6.5 million from the sale of the former St. Bernard School in Montville.

The plan is still subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court. A hearing is expected to be held in the spring. 

Norwich recently received a new bishop when Pope Francis announced that Monsignor Richard Reidy, presently the vicar general of the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, would lead the Connecticut diocese. 

Coyne told media last week that he was “confident that [Reidy] will be an excellent shepherd for the people of the diocese.”