<p class="speakable">A <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/us-regions/northeast/new-jersey" rel="noopener" target="_blank">New Jersey Catholic diocese</a> has agreed to pay $180 million to settle clergy sexual abuse claims involving hundreds of survivors, closing a long and contentious chapter in New Jersey’s reckoning with church abuse.</p><p class="speakable">Bishop Joseph Williams, who serves the Diocese of Camden, announced the agreement <a href="https://catholicstarherald.org/statement-from-bishop-joseph-williams-on-settlement-with-sexual-abuse-survivors/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">in a letter</a> on Tuesday.</p><p>"For the survivors of South Jersey, this day is long overdue," Williams wrote. "It represents a milestone in their journey toward restored justice and the healing and recognition they have long sought and deserve."</p><p>The diocese, which serves six counties in southern New Jersey outside Philadelphia, said about 300 survivors brought claims.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/girls-elite-prep-school-threatened-revenge-porn-blast-parents-shell-out-63k-year-attend" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>GIRLS AT ELITE PREP SCHOOL THREATENED IN 'REVENGE PORN BLAST' AS PARENTS SHELL OUT $63K A YEAR TO ATTEND</strong></a></p><p>Attorney Greg Gianforcaro, who represents <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/world/religion" rel="noopener" target="_blank">victims in the case</a>, credited survivors’ persistence in reaching the agreement after years of litigation.</p><p>"It’s been an extremely long and arduous battle," he said, according to The Associated Press.</p><p>The $180 million figure surpasses earlier settlements in Boston and Philadelphia, which were around $80 million, but remains smaller than the $880 million agreement reached in 2024 by the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/catholic-archdiocese-los-angeles-agrees-pay-880m-clergy-sexual-abuse-survivors" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Archdiocese of Los Angeles</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/retired-elementary-teacher-who-worked-santa-arrested-child-abuse-material-charges" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>RETIRED ELEMENTARY TEACHER WHO WORKED AS SANTA ARRESTED ON CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL CHARGES</strong></a></p><p>The Camden diocese filed for bankruptcy after New Jersey relaxed its statute of limitations, triggering <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/crime/sex-crimes" rel="noopener" target="_blank">a wave of lawsuits</a>. In 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million in a previous settlement involving roughly 300 accusers. Victims’ attorneys said the newly announced $180 million total includes those earlier funds.</p><p>The agreement must still receive approval from a bankruptcy court.</p><p><a href="https://foxnews.onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP</strong></a></p><p>The settlement comes as New Jersey’s Supreme Court has cleared the way for a long-delayed state grand jury investigation into <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/controversies" rel="noopener" target="_blank">decades of alleged abuse by clergy</a> to move forward.</p><p><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i></p>