New Orleans - The Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay nearly $180 million to victims of sexual abuse of clergy under a settlement announced Wednesday, a series of settlements in the Catholic Church.

An archdiocese, its diocese and several insurance companies will pay $179.2 million to the trust to benefit survivors, a statement from the committee said. It said the money will be distributed after the church emerges from bankruptcy.

But many survivors are not on board, their lawyer said.

"This proposed settlement was conducted through a secret fall deal, with the Archdiocese, the board of creditors and the mediators knowing that the vast majority of victim survivors will never agree and will undoubtedly vote down," attorneys Soren Gisleson, Johnny Denenea and Richard Trahant said in a statement to the Associated Press. “It makes no sense and is a continuation of the abuse caused to these people by the Archdiocese.”

The agreement will resolve lawsuits filed in 2020, requiring approval from survivors, as well as bankruptcy courts and other archdiocese creditors.

Aaron Hebert said he was abused by eighth-grade pastors in the 1960s, a deal he called "insult and slap".

"The Archdiocese of New Orleans and Archbishop (Gregory) Amond made this proposal to prevent victims and survivors from making demands in the state court," Herbert said.

The commission's statement said the deal also includes so-called "unprecedented" provisions and procedures to protect future abuse and serve survivors, including the survivor's bill of rights and changes, the process of handling abuse claims against the Archdiocese.

"I thank everyone who has worked to reach this agreement, and we may move towards the future path toward the recovery of survivors and local churches," Ammond said in a statement.

The lawsuit involved more than 500 people saying they were abused by clergy. The case produced a series of church records that were said to record years of abuse claims and patterns of leaders transferring clergy without reporting their crimes to law enforcement.

In 2018, the Archdiocese released a list of more than 50 clergy members who were evacuated from the ministry for “trustworthy” sexual abuse.