The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, has reached a new agreement to contribute an additional $180 million to a compensation trust for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, marking what church officials describe as the final resolution of its long-running bankruptcy case.
The new funding comes after a Chapter 11 reorganization plan was approved in March 2024 that had already established an $87.5 million settlement pool for abuse claimants. The expanded agreement was negotiated with a committee representing more than 300 survivors and remains subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey.
According to the diocese, the trust will be financed by a combination of diocesan assets, parish contributions and payments from several insurance carriers.
Camden Bishop Joseph A. Williams issued a public statement acknowledging the harm suffered by survivors and thanking them for coming forward. He described their willingness to speak out as an act of courage and expressed remorse on behalf of church leadership, calling the abuse a serious betrayal of trust.
Attorneys representing the official committee of tort claimants welcomed the agreement. Jeffrey D. Prol of Lowenstein Sandler LLP, counsel to the survivors’ committee, said the new settlement amount is significantly larger than the $26 million initially proposed when the diocese first filed its reorganization plan in 2021. He credited the survivors’ persistence over several years of negotiations and litigation.
The road to the agreement was marked by disputes with insurers. Before confirming the 2024 Chapter 11 plan, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerrold N. Poslusny Jr. rejected earlier versions after insurance companies argued that their contractual rights were not adequately protected. At one point, the judge paused implementation of the plan to prevent actions that could undermine pending appeals.
In 2025, both the diocese and the survivors’ committee sought to lift the automatic stay in the bankruptcy case, arguing that ongoing appeals were delaying compensation. They noted that mediation efforts with insurers had repeatedly failed. Insurers opposed lifting the stay, asserting that the court lacked authority over matters under appeal and that ending the pause would not meaningfully advance settlement talks.
Despite those earlier standoffs, negotiations eventually resumed, culminating in the newly announced $180 million agreement.
John Collins, chair of the survivors’ committee, said the settlement represents meaningful accountability, even though financial compensation cannot erase the trauma endured. He emphasized that the committee’s priority throughout the bankruptcy process was to ensure that survivors’ interests remained central to the proceedings.
The bankruptcy case, originally filed in October 2020, was brought under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The diocese sought court protection as it faced hundreds of abuse claims following changes in state law that expanded the time period for filing lawsuits.
If approved, the revised trust structure would bring total compensation funding to well over a quarter of a billion dollars, significantly increasing the resources available to survivors.
The court’s review of the updated settlement is expected to determine the next steps in finalizing distributions to claimants.
