PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has announced that the archdiocese has sued its longtime primary insurance company, Chubb, for “attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation to settle covered claims” of sex abuse.
“It has always been our wish to expeditiously settle all meritorious claims,” Cardinal Dolan said on Oct. 1. “However, Chubb, for decades, our primary insurance company, even though we have paid them over $2 billion in premium by today’s standards, is now attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation to settle covered claims which would bring peace and healing to victim-survivors.”
In response, Chubb has put the onus on the Archdiocese of New York.
“The Archdiocese of New York tolerated, concealed, and covered up rampant child sexual abuse for decades, and despite having substantial financial resources, they still refuse to compensate their victims,” Chubb said in a company statement to The Tablet.
“Instead, the Archdiocese is attempting to shift responsibility for its actions onto insurers but won’t turn over information regarding what it knew about the abuse,” the statement continues. “Further, they have concealed their vast wealth and hidden assets. This is just another financial maneuver by the Archdiocese to deflect, hide, and avoid responsibility.”
Cardinal Dolan announced the lawsuit in an Oct. 1 message to the faithful.
According to Cardinal Dolan, the archdiocese has settled more than 400 meritorious cases of past sexual abuse that are not covered by insurance through its Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program. The archdiocese has also settled another 123 cases in response to the state’s 2019 Child Victims Act.
Cardinal Dolan said, however, that there remain about 1,400 cases of alleged abuse that date back to World War II. He emphasized that not all of the allegations are against priests. The two largest groups of complaints, he said, are against a former volunteer basketball coach and a former janitor.
On Chubb, Cardinal Dolan claims in legal documents the insurance company “has abandoned its archdiocese and parish policyholders and those people such policies were purchased to protect, the survivors of child sexual abuse.” He also claims that Chubb has said it is not obligated to settle the archdiocese’s abuse claims because the abuse was “expected or intended” by the Church.
“You read that right. They make the false argument that people like my beloved predecessors, Cardinal Terence Cooke or Cardinal John O’Connor, took actions with the intent of harming children, or at least expecting that would be the case. Outrageous!” Cardinal Dolan said.
“Why would they make such an egregiously false claim? Easy. To protect their bottom line – one that currently brings in $2 billion per quarter,” Cardinal Dolan continued. “Their apparent plan … is designed to delay, delay, and further delay, hoping to force the archdiocese to pay the claims Chubb is legally responsible for paying but has refused to pay. A sad story!”
With the lawsuit announcement also came the news that the archdiocese is taking “dramatic steps to do more with less” to address the “towering” expense that is clergy sex abuse cases. Cardinal Dolan said the archdiocese will be moving into newer, smaller offices next year and putting its current headquarters on First Avenue on the market, noting that the proceeds from that sale will be used to “ease the financial burden of the abuse crisis.”
Cardinal Dolan said other archdiocesan properties are also being considered for sale.
“Our future financial strength will require even more strategy and sacrifice and even more help from the archdiocese and more help from our parishes and people,” Cardinal Dolan said. “Be assured, however, that we can’t and won’t let this destroy us. Our clergy and I remain inspired by and grateful for your generosity. … But, even more profoundly, we have the promise of Jesus that He is with us always and that the ‘gates of hell’ will not destroy us, even though they sure keep trying! That’s an insurance policy, His Word, that will never fail to pay claims!” he continued.
Cardinal Dolan concluded his message to the faithful by highlighting the hard times of recent decades that the archdiocese has gotten through, assuring that it will get through this, too.
“Cower and hide we will not! Fear we will not! We will stand and walk together through this, as we all did twenty-three years ago after 9/11, as we continue our resolve to compensate and reconcile with survivors, and as we ministered throughout the darkness of COVID,” Cardinal Dolan said. “This challenge will strengthen our resolve to rely confidently upon the infinite power of the holy name of Jesus. With Him, nothing is impossible! Without Him, nothing is possible!”
