Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2023 / 12:22 pm (CNA).
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on Friday revealed that it was “very likely” that the archdiocese would be filing for bankruptcy in the near future due to the hundreds of clerical abuse lawsuits that have been filed against it.
The prelate revealed the news in an announcement on the archdiocesan website Aug. 4 in which he noted that, following a 2019 California law that lifted the statute of limitations on certain sexual abuse claims, the archdiocese was ultimately served with “more than 500 civil lawsuits” related to clerical sexual abuse.
The “vast majority of the alleged abuse occurred in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s and involved priests who are deceased or no longer in ministry,” Cordileone noted, while others involved “unnamed individuals or named individuals who are unknown to the archdiocese.” The archdiocese has been “investigating the best options for managing and resolving these cases,” Cordileone said.
“After much contemplation and prayer, I wish to inform you that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization is very likely,” Cordileone said.
The Chapter 11 filing, the prelate said, would “[allow] the archdiocese to deal with the hundreds of cases collectively rather than one at a time,” leading to what he said would be a “faster resolution for hundreds of survivors” resulting in “fair compensation and finally, hopefully, some peace and closure.”
Only the overarching “legal entity” of the archdiocese would be affected by a Chapter 11 filing, Cordileone noted; parishes and schools would be unaffected by the move.
Should the archdiocese proceed with the Chapter 11 filing, it will become one of numerous U.S. dioceses that have recently resorted to the legal and financial maneuver in order to address voluminous abuse claims within their jurisdictions.
CNA reported last month that “more than two dozen” dioceses have filed for bankruptcy in the United States, the “vast majority” of them in the last decade. Among those include the bishoprics of Tucson, Arizona; Davenport, Iowa; Portland, Oregon; Wilmington, Delaware; and New Orleans.
Behind San Francisco, the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York is the latest in the U.S. to have entered bankruptcy proceedings, having done so while facing nearly 150 abuse lawsuits going back decades. The Diocese of Syracuse, New York, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020, announced last month a settlement with survivors of abuse in which it will pay $100 million to a victims’ trust fund.
Cordileone on Friday said he was “deeply saddened by the sinful acts and the damage caused to the lives of innocent children” abused by Church leaders.
Following “a stringent screening process and [enhanced] awareness and education for children and adults, the occurrences of abuse within the Church are very rare,” the archbishop said.
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“More than 500 civil lawsuits” have been filed.
One can’t help but wonder – how many of those are actually legitimate?
Despite these horrendous sins and statistics, the continuing reality is that the rampant clerical homosexuality that created it not only remains but is growing. Until the hierarchy which itself is filled from top to bottom with homosexual heretics ceases its meaningless apologies and addresses this moral cancer that is destroying the Church, the corruption will continue.
Witness this shocking LifeSite article:
Catholic priest promotes radical ‘sexologist’ who defends homosexuality, transgenderism
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/catholic-priest-promotes-radical-sexologist-who-defends-homosexuality-transgenderism/?utm_source=top_news&utm_campaign=usa
Paul, you are so correct! Thank you. And with this, the teaching authority and respect for the bishops has been reduced to almost nothing.
There can be no closure until there is disclosure. Bankruptcy is never an excuse to hide the Truth of Christ.
If the Archbishop needs to sell assets to help victims, he should start with that ugly Cathedral.
Each victim should be met with, as if they were his own child. So what if it takes years. This is not a problem to be solved but people to be cared for. That has to be the top job of any Bishop. What could be more import than Christ crucified in his diocese?