The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has reached an $8 million settlement with a survivor of sexual abuse.

Plaintiff Michael Harmon was allegedly abused by Father Edward Charles Pratt, former vice chancellor of the Diocese, when Harmon was between the ages of 11 to 16.

The $8 million settlement was agreed to on the eve of a trial in the abuse case. More than 400 abuse cases against the Diocese are pending in federal bankruptcy court after the Diocese declared bankruptcy in 2023.

Harmon’s case was filed in the wake of the New York Child Victims Act, with the 2019 legislation suspending the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes.

“We commend Michael’s bravery in coming forward, in standing up to the Diocese, in uncovering the magnitude of what the Diocese knew about its priests using their positions to sexually abuse children, and for his willingness to take his case to a jury trial for the benefit of all of the survivors in the Diocese of Albany,” Mallory Allen of the plaintiff’s law firm PCVA Law noted in a statement.

Harmon made an offer to settle his claim in March 2025, but the Diocese’s insurance companies did not respond to his offer, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys.

According to the Diocese, the settlement is subject to review and approval by the Bankruptcy Court. A Diocese spokesperson noted on Friday that the Diocesan insurance carriers were not part of the settlement and did not approve it

“The Diocese does not dispute that abuse occurred and our offer to walk with survivors remains,” the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany noted in a statement. “The Diocese agreed to this settlement out of sensitivity for the impact a trial could have on the survivor and their family. If a survivor finds healing in sharing their story, it should be on their terms and not dictated via the testimony of a court process. We are sorry that anyone was abused at the hands of anyone, including someone they should have been able to trust in the church.”

Contact Ted Remsnyder at tremsnyder@dailygazette.net. Follow him on X at @TedRemsnyder.

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