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Archdiocese of New York will pay out $800 million in sexual abuse settlement #Catholic The Archdiocese of New York will pay out $800 million in a settlement with sexual abuse victims.The settlement, first announced in May, required unanimous agreement of all 1,300 victims, which has been established, attorneys for hundreds of victims said on Oct. 24.The agreement comes after years of litigation following New York’s 2019 passage of the New York Child Victims’ Act, which permanently extended the civil statute of limitations so victims of childhood sexual abuse can file claims until age 55, and opened a temporary revival window (extended through August 2021) that allowed previously time-barred claims to be filed by victims of any age.The settlement also requires the archdiocese to maintain and update a list of credibly accused clergy on its website, attorneys said.The archdiocese and a plaintiffs’ liaison committee, composed of attorneys from eight law firms representing the majority of claimants, negotiated for months to arrive at the agreement.Archbishop Ronald Hicks called the news of the settlement “encouraging” in an Oct. 24 letter to priests provided to EWTN News by the archdiocese.“We are on the verge of being able to, please God, bring some measure of healing and reconciliation to all victim-survivors,” Hicks wrote. “This agreement will also allow the archdiocese to turn its full attention once again to its mission of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, caring for the poor and needy, welcoming the stranger, and educating our children.”He instructed priests to assure their parishioners that parish life “should continue uninterrupted” if asked about the settlement, saying they will be informed through a message when the deal is finalized. The settlement agreement is scheduled to be signed Nov. 6.In his letter to priests, Hicks thanked Cardinal Timothy Dolan, “under whose leadership the process began.”The settlement amount is the second highest in history, near the record $880 million the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid in 2024 and half a billion dollars higher than the $300 million settlement Dolan announced in December 2025.Dolan said at the time that the archdiocese had made “a series of very difficult financial decisions” to help fund the then-$300 million settlement, including staff layoffs, a 10% reduction in the archdioceseʼs operating budget, and the sale of real estate holdings, including the $100 million sale of the former diocesan headquarters in Manhattan.The settlement allows the Archdiocese of New York to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Along with the Diocese of Brooklyn, it is one of only two of New York’s eight Catholic dioceses that have not sought bankruptcy protection.The archdiocese confirmed to EWTN News that is is still engaged in litigation with its longtime insurer Chubb, which it sued in 2024, claiming the company was “attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation” to pay out claims to sex-abuse victims."Despite accepting millions in premiums from the archdiocese, Chubb has steadfastly refused to honor the policies it issued,” Dolan said in December 2025.

‘It’s what I’m called to do’: Montse Alvarado on her new Vatican role #Catholic Montse Alvarado came to EWTN in 2021 as the founding host of the global Catholic network’s weekly news magazine show “EWTN News In Depth.” Just a few years later, in 2023, she was promoted to president and chief operating officer of EWTN News. Now she is preparing to begin, on Nov. 1, another challenging new role, one that is taking her to the Eternal City as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication.In an “EWTN News In Depth” interview with Colm Flynn, Alvarado reflected on where her life has taken her so far, her vocation, and what’s ahead.Since 2023, Alvarado has led EWTN News’ global and multilingual news operations across television, radio, print, digital, and social media platforms. Before joining EWTN, she spent 14 years at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where she also rose to a position of leadership and worked extensively on issues related to religious freedom and human dignity.Born in Mexico City, Alvarado came to the United States as a young girl. She studied at Florida International University and The George Washington University, served her church, and even discerned religious life.She shared that she’s “done none of this alone” and that as she has walked into each new chapter, “thereʼs an incredible team there to work with, mentors that are more generous than I could ever deserve.”After ending her time at Becket, she recalled “thinking about the importance of religious freedom and the Constitution and the American Dream and I said, ‘Well, whatʼs it all for if not for heaven?’”“I looked at EWTN and Mother Angelica and she spoke to my heart. That desperate desire for people to go to heaven … and so coming in here and having an environment where I was only talking about Jesus every day and only trying to communicate him to the world was a great honor for me and my spiritual life, but also seemed like a very logical thing to do when I thought about it from a calling and spiritual perspective,” she explained.Alvarado credited Mother Angelica and EWTN for playing a major role in the lead-up to her appointment to her new position. Pope Leo XIV with Maria Montserrat Alvarado at the Vatican on May 12, 2025. | Credit: Vatican Media She explained that due to EWTN’s role in collaborating with the Holy See for several large events — including Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever live dialogue with young people in Indianapolis in November 2025 and EWTN’s collaboration with the dicastery to create a video reflection ahead of the release of the Holy Father’s first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas — she was able to meet with the pope and “get to know the inner workings.”Alvarado will be making history as she takes on this new responsibility — becoming the first laywoman appointed prefect of a dicastery of the Holy See. She said she believes she was chosen for the position because “we are in a moment where digital communications and traditional communications are coming together,” and the Holy Father “was looking for a next-generation professional, thatʼs clear, and God willing, Iʼll be able to fill those shoes.”When asked if her response to the Holy Father’s reaching out to her about the appointment prompted an immediate yes, Alvarado admitted that it “took a little more prayer than I would care to admit.”“My entire life has been a surrender to Jesus Christ and his Church in the hopes that others would have a relationship with him. But Iʼm human, Colm, and moving to a new country, learning a new language, all of those pieces, leaving everything behind, theyʼre big to overcome,” she said. “And so I think it took a little more prayer than I would care to admit. Iʼm a little more human than I would care to admit in my willingness to say yes.”As prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, Alvarado will oversee all of the Holy See’s media and communication outlets, which include Vatican News, Vatican Media, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican publishing house, the Vatican internet service, the Vatican printing press, and the Vatican’s photography service.“Itʼs enormous,” Alvarado said.“Communicating Christ to the world is the mandate of the communications dicastery, and it will be done in concert with the Holy Father … Weʼre getting to know what this is, what it should be, what the desire of his heart is, and what the Holy Spirit has really given him as the mandate for his pontificate,” she added. “And my job is to serve him and the Church and to serve the dicasteries and serve the Curia. In no way am I imposing a vision. Iʼm very much receiving one and executing it.”She shared that while people have been telling her that by going into the Vatican she has to be careful “because I might lose my faith seeing the humanity of the Church,” that excites her and she prefers to “turn that on its head and say Iʼm going to see the humanity of the Church, which for me has always been an affirmation that Jesus Christ is real and his Church is the true Church. Because in seeing the way things work, I actually find that itʼs miraculous.”“I feel like seeing the inner workings and the reality, even overcoming my own imperfections and sinfulness, as a child of God, the fact that God could use me as an instrument for something so great is incredibly humbling.”

Nigeria’s bishops designate Dec. 8 as national day of prayer and fasting for upcoming elections #Catholic OSOGBO, Nigeria — Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) have designated Dec. 8 as a National Day of Prayer and fasting for the success of the country’s 2027 general elections, calling on Nigerians to prepare spiritually for the polls.In a statement issued at the end of their 2026 second plenary assembly held at Our Lady and St. Kizito Pastoral Centre in the Diocese of Osogbo, the bishops urged stakeholders to work toward elections that are “free, fair and credible.”“We announce that 8 December 2026 will be observed as a special national day for prayer and fasting for the success of the elections,” the bishops said in the statement following their Sept. 10–18 plenary assembly.They encouraged eligible voters to participate in the elections and elect leaders who are qualified to serve while urging citizens to make their choices according to their consciences.“We encourage eligible voters to come out en masse to vote qualified people into offices and in line with their good consciences,” the bishops said in the statement that their president, Archbishop Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, signed.The CBCN also urged Nigerians to familiarize themselves with its pastoral letter on the forthcoming elections and follow the provisions and guidelines contained in the document.As part of preparations for the polls, the bishops called on dioceses and parishes across the country to organize civic education and voter mobilization activities alongside end-of-month fasting and prayer.They further encouraged the faithful to participate in rosary processions from October to December, linking the spiritual activities with preparations for the elections.The bishops also addressed the role of technology and artificial intelligence (AI), urging politicians and other users to deploy emerging technologies responsibly and ethically, particularly in the context of the forthcoming elections.“As a vehicle for evangelization, we enjoin all to use it to transform data into knowledge and insights for greater value,” they said while calling on political actors to exercise responsibility in their use of technology and AI.The bishops said technology is closely linked to human freedom and autonomy but cautioned that its use must remain guided by ethical considerations.“Technology is not inherently evil or antagonistic to humanity, but it is never neutral,” they said, referencing Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.They also raised concern over what they described as the growing challenge of neo-paganism in Nigeria, particularly among young people, which they attributed partly to economic hardship, cultural revival, and inadequate Christian formation.The bishops observed that modern forms of neo-paganism spread rapidly through internet culture, media, and books, and called on pastoral agents to make greater use of digital platforms in evangelization and catechesis.“We encourage pastoral agents to intentionally incorporate the use of digital spaces, social media, and online catechesis in teaching the truth of the Gospel,” they said.They also called for what they described as healthy inculturation that respects positive elements of African cultural heritage while maintaining the foundational teachings of Christianity.On education, the bishops described access to quality education as essential for human development and the peaceful integration of Nigeria’s diverse communities and cultures.They said the Catholic Church remains committed to education and ready to collaborate with the government in providing quality learning opportunities while urging authorities to fulfill their constitutional responsibility to fund education.“We, therefore, urge governments to embrace their constitutional responsibility of funding education,” they said, adding that children in public, private, and mission schools should have access to free education, particularly at primary and secondary levels.They further called for policies that promote the development of the human person and contribute to the country’s overall development.The bishops also expressed concern over a bill before the National Assembly that, according to them, could affect churches, mosques, schools, and humanitarian organizations involved in assisting vulnerable and conflict-affected communities.They said provisions requiring the registration of foreign aid resources and giving authorities powers to supervise their use could create challenges for organizations providing critical assistance.The bishops particularly raised concern about provisions that would allow authorities to deny or refuse renewal of an organization’s registration if its activities are considered not to be in the “national interest,” arguing that such provisions could give government officials broad discretionary powers.They further said the proposed legislation could create additional bureaucracy, duplicate existing regulations, and increase government control over civic organizations.“Non-profit organizations and Incorporated Trustees including churches, mosques, other religious bodies, and humanitarian groups are already strictly regulated by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and some other extant laws,” they said.The bishops consequently called on the National Assembly and the federal government not to proceed with the bill, citing concerns over freedom of association, religion, thought, and conscience as well as its potential implications for the wider development of Nigerians.This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

unitedyam September 19, 2026September 21, 2026

The Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has called for prayer and fasting on December 8 for the success of the country’s general elections, calling on Nigerians to prepare spiritually for the polls.