The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to pay $395 million to settle approximately 530 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by clergy and other church employees, ending years of litigation stemming from California's 2019 Child Victims Act.

The proposed settlement, announced Monday, comes nearly three years after the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection and still requires approval from survivors and the bankruptcy court.

In addition to financial compensation, the agreement requires the Archdiocese to implement a series of child protection and transparency reforms, including publishing a list of accused clergy, appointing a survivor to its abuse review board, banning future confidentiality agreements with survivors, and commissioning an independent review of church records.

Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents hundreds of survivors, called the agreement "the largest per-survivor settlement ever reached in a bankruptcy involving a Catholic diocese."

"We stand proudly with over 200 of those brave souls who have persisted collectively, requiring a real reckoning," Anderson said.

"A real monetary reckoning. Real accountability," he added.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said the agreement provides "a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have borne the weight of this abuse for a lifetime."

"We accept full responsibility for what happened, and I sincerely apologize to all those who have been harmed," Cordileone said, adding that "the entire Catholic family is called to unite and share in the work of making amends."

The settlement also requires Cordileone to write a letter of apology to each survivor.

Survivors said the agreement represents a significant step toward accountability.

Margie O'Driscoll, who alleges she was abused by a priest while attending Marin Catholic High School nearly 50 years ago, said, "I, like every survivor, have carried this pain and shame along like a ball and chain for a very, very long time."

"I think today shame is gonna change sides," she said.

Brigid Crotty, who said she was abused by a San Francisco priest as a child, described carrying the trauma "for 55 years."

"If by speaking out I can somehow see to it that no other innocents are broken the way I was broken, then it will all be somehow worth it," Crotty said.

The settlement follows years of negotiations and is the latest in a series of major clergy abuse agreements in California.

In 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to an $880 million settlement to resolve hundreds of similar claims.