CNA Staff, Sep 27, 2025 / 15:15 pm (CNA).
The New York Supreme Court has tossed out a lawsuit against the Diocese of Buffalo challenging a diocesan plan requiring payments to help settle the diocese’s abuse settlement.
Parishioners suing the diocese had won a reprieve in July when the state Supreme Court instituted a temporary halt on the payments.
The parishioners had argued that the diocese should await the Vatican’s ruling on a diocesan merger plan before requiring the parishes to pay the highest-level payment rate into the settlement.
But Judge John Delmonte, who had issued the injunction in July, said in his Sept. 26 ruling that the issue turned on whether the Supreme Court “has any measure of jurisdiction” to adjudicate the dispute.
“It has been repeatedly and consistently stated that the courts of this state ‘adhere to the long-recognized and sensible prohibition against court involvement in the governance and administration of a hierarchal church,’” he wrote.
The Buffalo diocese told media in a statement that it was “pleased” with Delmonte’s ruling that the diocese “maintains the authority for decisions that clearly involve matters specific to the operations of parishes” in the diocese itself.
The advocacy group Save Our Buffalo Churches said in a statement that the plaintiffs in the suit “will be meeting with their attorneys” in the wake of the ruling.
The group said the lawsuit could move to an appellate court.
The Diocese of Buffalo, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020 amid a large number of abuse claims, announced earlier this year that its parishes would be required to pay up to 80% of their “unrestricted cash” to help fund the settlement for abuse victims.
Closing or merging parishes are required to pay the top-tier 80% rate, the diocese said. Bishop Michael Fisher called the required contributions “necessary to bring to a close this painful chapter of our diocese and achieve a level of restitution that is owed” to victims of sexual abuse.
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