Los Angeles ? The nation’s largest Roman Catholic archdiocese said Friday it will pay $60 million to settle 45 sex abuse lawsuits, the largest payout yet by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and among the biggest resulting from the molestation crisis that has plagued the church.

The cases were among more than 500 abuse claims pending against the Los Angeles Archdiocese. An attorney for the plaintiffs said that an agreement had not been signed but that the parties were close.

The settlement outlined by the archdiocese involves 22 priests and allegations from two periods when the archdiocese had limited or no insurance against abuse claims – prior to the mid-1950s and after 1987.

Mahony said $40 million of the payment would come from the archdiocese, while $20 million would be from religious orders plus a small amount of independent insurance coverage.