The Archdiocese of St. John’s must provide payment to an additional 59 survivors — or their estates — who experienced abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s or at the hands of archdiocesan clergy.

Now the bill due for 351 total plaintiffs is over $121 million. The cumulative net abuse award for the 59 petitioners, who succeeded upon appeal in court after their original claims were turned down by the adjudication company Global Resolutions, is nearly $15.3 million, an average award of $260,000 per victim. 

Geoff Budden, who represented 19 of the successful appellants and originated the lawsuit on behalf of Mount Cashel victims in 1999, was pleased that this “rollercoaster” process culminated in a good outcome. 

The original landmark $104 million settlement for 292 survivors was approved in July 2024 by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. An initial disbursement of $22 million was distributed in October. 

July 2025 signifies the fifth anniversary of the Newfoundland Court of Appeal ruling that the Archdiocese of St. John’s was “vicariously liable” for atrocities committed by the Christian Brothers of Ireland at Mount Cashel. The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the ruling in January 2021. The Christian Brothers of Ireland, the orphanage’s operators, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. in 2011.

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s (RCEC) filed for bankruptcy in December 2021 and began liquidating assets the following spring. 

According to the 20th report filed by court-appointed monitor Ernst & Young on March 31, the episcopal corporation has sold 111 properties, which include churches, schools, empty land and others. 

Six more property sales are closing this month, which includes St. Pius X Church and the adjoining St. Pius X Junior High for $2.3 million. Two additional deals will be finalized in May with sale values of $100,000. An additional $100,000 property is slated for closure in June. 

Approximately $40 million has been raised to date, about one-third of the court-mandated amount.

Understanding that not many more funds will be generated by property sales, Budden and other lawyers representing survivors are waiting to see if the RCEC will be successful in its appeal against Guardian Insurance. 

Last December, Justice Peter Brown of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador absolved the insurance company from honouring a written policy agreement because he ruled the RCEC failed to divulge instances of clerical sexual abuse upon applying for a policy in 1980, and upon renewing it annually up until 1985.

RCEC solicitors Mark Frederick and Chris Blom of Miller Thomson LLP alleged in the notice of appeal that Brown erred because sexual abuse “was not an underwriting factor” for insurance policies “until the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Budden said it would take a while for this insurance dispute to resolve. He remains optimistic the gap to reach $121 million “will be substantially closed” and has an idea of how to proceed. 

“We’ll get there by identifying and hopefully working something out with other potential defendants,” said Budden. “By that, I mean the 360 or so plaintiffs cover a variety of circumstances. Some were abused by their Christian Brothers teachers, some by diocesan priests in schools and others were abused by priests of religious orders that happened to be seconded to the archdiocese. 

“Our hope is that in the larger Catholic world and also the government institutions responsible for Mount Cashel, delivery of education and so forth, those entities will make substantial contributions to reflect their potential liabilities.”