The Diocese of Brooklyn has announced it will enter into mediation concerning more than a thousand pending child sex abuse cases, which include an active case against a retired Black Catholic bishop.
Bishop Robert J. Brennan announced the news on Feb. 12 with a letter to Catholics in the diocese, which covers the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.
“Today I announce that the Diocese intends to pursue a global resolution of all approximately 1,100 remaining cases,” wrote Brennan, who has led the diocese—one of the nation’s most populous—since 2021.
“We will endeavor to resolve expeditiously all meritorious claims, and to avoid the time, expense, and emotional strain for victim-survivors that would be caused by individual trials.”
Kristina Valente
The Brooklyn Diocese is one of several Catholic jurisdictions in New York and across the country that have been rocked by the Catholic sex abuse scandal, which first came to light near the turn of the 21st century. More than 100 clergy have been credibly accused in Brooklyn and Queens, according to a list released by the diocese in 2019.
Among the larger list of accused clergy is the late Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq, a Haitian-born prelate who served in the diocese from 1971 and was made a bishop in 2006. He and the Diocese of Brooklyn were sued in 2019 over an allegation dating back decades, though the chancery did not reveal this until after Sansaricq’s death in 2021. The case remains pending in the Kings County Supreme Court, following a recent delay in October 2025. (To date, Sansaricq has not been named by the diocese as credibly accused.)
Previously, in 2017, the Brooklyn Diocese began an Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, intended to compensate child sex abuse victims without having to face litigation. Brennan noted in his letter that the local IRCP has since paid over 500 survivors more than $100 million.
However, the same year the Brooklyn Diocese released its list of credibly accused priests, the New York state legislature passed the New York Child Victims Act—which for two years allowed survivors of child sex abuse to file cases outside of the normal statute of limitations.
The resulting flood of legal cases has led to the current shift to mediation by the Brooklyn chancery. The end goal is an all-encompassing settlement for survivors, as has been reached recently in the neighboring Archdiocese of New York, as well as the Archdioceses of Los Angeles and New Orleans (the latter of which also filed for bankruptcy). Several other smaller dioceses are currently in the process of mediation.
“We will endeavor to resolve expeditiously all meritorious claims,” wrote Brennan, “and to avoid the time, expense, and emotional strain for victim-survivors that would be caused by individual trials.”
Retired superior court judge Daniel J. Buckley, who presided over the record $880-million mediation result in Los Angeles, will serve in a similar role for the Brooklyn action, alongside attorney Paul A. Finn.
“We will seek their guidance in swiftly and justly resolving the meritorious claims brought by victim-survivors,” wrote Brennan, who says the anticipated settlement cost will require cost-cutting measures in the diocese.
“The process of marshalling these funds entails difficult financial choices, but the Diocese is committed to fairly compensating all meritorious claims,” Brennan wrote.
“The Diocese is immediately undertaking the steps to amass substantial and sufficient funds to support our compensation efforts.”
It is expected that the austerity measures in the Brooklyn Diocese—among the Blackest in the country—will include consolidation and closing of parishes, schools, and other institutions, as has been seen in other cash-strapped dioceses facing mounting child sex abuse payouts.
Notably, the diocese has closed or merged at least 10 churches in Brooklyn and Queens since 2024, including at least one Black parish. It has also closed at least 10 Catholic schools, including several serving mostly Black and brown students, citing low enrollment and “financial challenges.”
The latest round of permanent Catholic school closures was announced on Feb. 11, the day before Brennan released his letter on mediation efforts.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
