St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers
Emergency Meeting Held at St. Joseph’s Seminary to Discuss Asking Parishes to Pay for Priest-Sex Abuse Settlements
By Dan Murphy
A recent emergency meeting held at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers with Priests across the Archdiocese of NY presented a bleak financial picture for Catholics in Westchester and Yonkers.
While the Archdiocese of New York is not currently in bankruptcy, priests were warned at the meeting that if a proposed $800 MILLION settlement is not agreed to by 1,300 survivors of sexual abuse from Priests from ONLY the Archdiocese of NY, then the archdiocese may have to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.
A tentative agreement has been reached between the victims and the archdiocese to settle the claims under the Child Victims Act to reach the proposed settlement figure, church leaders slashed budgets, laid off staff, and raised funds by selling off the vast majority of its real estate holdings, including its former Manhattan headquarters.
But despite the cost cutting and sell off, a $300 Million fund raised is well short, and priests were told that local parishes may be asked or forced to pay for the remain HALF A BILLION dollars.
And which parishes will pay for the sex abuse settlements? According to Our Town, one priest at the meeting said, . “It is not going to be totally democratic,” “They will try to look at the books of each parish,” said one source. “It will be a case of ‘let us see how much you have in the bank, and we’ll tell you how much you have to pay.’”
Archbishop Ronald Hicks, who recently replaced Cardinal Timothy Dolan, was not at the emergency meeting.
Another problem in raising the funds needed to settle the claims is the ongoing legal battle between the Archdiocese and Chubb insurance. Chubb, who covered the archdiocese for decades, claims in legal filings that it should not have to pay for the sex abuse settlements because the archdiocese knew of the widespread abuse for years and covered up the crimes.
Parishioners in Yonkers and Westchester may not hear about the financial troubles when they go to mass. Instead, Pastors will meet with Archdiocese representatives to determine what if anything, each parish can afford to pay.
The bleak financial picture is also bad news for those attempting to save St. Mary’s Church in Yonkers, the oldest Catholic church in Westchester’s largest City.
In a decision dated March 6, Westchester County Court Judge Melissa Loehr issued an order approving a settlement between the Archdiocese of New York, the City of Yonkers, the Yonkers City Council, and the Yonkers Landmarks Board, which removes the Landmark status of the interiors of St. Mary’s Church on South Broadway.
The decision is bad news for those of us who wanted The Friends of St. Mary’s to have the opportunity to raise the funds needed to repair the church, which the archdiocese has wanted to close for at least 4 years.
St. Mary’s Church (Parish of the Immaculate Conception) was founded in Yonkers in 1848 as the city’s first Catholic parish. Mass is presently celebrated in St. Mary’s Church for English-speaking and Arabic-speaking Catholics.
On July 16, 2024, when the City Council of Yonkers unanimously approved landmark status. While it did not restore St. Mary’s as a parish, it offered hope for the future, as the building would continue to stand.
In 2025, the Archdiocese of NY sued the City of Yonkers to remove St. Mary’s from the Landmark Protection status. The archdiocese estimated that $10 Million in repairs were needed to keep St. Mary’s safe and operational.
A group, Friends of St. Mary’s (https://stmarysfriends.org/), is raising funds and awareness to save the historic church. Some former Parishioners have come forward to offer their expertise in construction and have proposed breaking the $10 million price tag into separate parts to save the church.
Cardinal Dolan, before stepping down, ordered the consolidation of St. Mary’s Church with St. Dennis in Yonkers, but parishioners have complained that the masses are too crowded.
While we disagree with some of our friends of St. Mary’s on the ongoing financial troubles in the Archdiocese of NY and its connection to St. Mary’s, we believe that the powers that be in NYC want St. Mary’s torn down and sold to raise funds to pay for the sex abuse settlements. Or the Archdiocese of NY cannot afford to pay for ONE PENNY of the cost of repairs required to keep this great church open.
Once again, the time for an ANGEL to come forward with the money so that outside lovers of St. Mary’s can try to repair and rebuild before it is too late, is NOW.
May 24th Zoom Meeting About St. Mary’s Future
“At this point St. Mary’s can only be saved by the people who care.” These are the words of Brody Hale, the attorney who is guiding St. Mary’s through the intricacies of Canon Law. Brody will be holding a Zoom meeting at 7:00 PM on May 27, 2026. If you care, please attend. The more who are there, the better the chance that things go well for the church in the future.
Points addressed:
What needs to be done to save St. Mary’s from permanent closure.
The canonical appeal.
Actions the Archdiocese of New York may choose to take in the coming weeks.
What parishioners can do to avert the loss of the church if they choose to act.
We know that you have questions about many things. This will be a forum in which all of those questions can be answered.
Here are the particulars:
Topic: The Future of St. Mary’s Church, Yonkers
Time: May 27, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82691309618?pwd=Io0I21ZTClrugmeKXrEdmvV71MAR2Q.1
Meeting chat link
https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/82691309618
Meeting ID: 826 9130 9618
Passcode: 038443
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