Buffalo Diocese abuse settlement could include child protection rules, disclosure of priest files

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Diocese of Buffalo has until October 1 to submit a new plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following a tentative $272 million settlement agreement reached with survivors of sexual abuse.

While the size of the payout has drawn headlines, survivors say the most meaningful reforms could come through " non-monetary commitments " or rules aimed at protecting children and releasing decades of church records.

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Abuse survivor Kevin Koscielniak said the public deserves to know how the Catholic Church allowed abuse to persist for decades.

“These are crimes that were committed against children from an institution that was supposed to be so trusting and so worthy and so good,”