CV NEWS FEED // The Catholic Diocese of San Diego filed for bankruptcy this week amid settlement negotiations with attorneys representing abuse survivors.
On June 13, Cardinal Robert McElroy, the bishop of San Diego, issued a letter to parishioners and clergy announcing that the Diocese would file for bankruptcy on June 17.
Diocesan Director of External and Community Relations Kevin Eckery confirmed in a phone call with CatholicVote that the diocese did file for bankruptcy on June 17.
Cardinal McElroy wrote in his June 13 letter that “[t]he Diocese faces two compelling moral claims in approaching the settlement process: the need for just compensation for victims of sexual abuse and the need to continue the Church’s mission of education, pastoral service and outreach to the poor and the marginalized.”
“Bankruptcy,” he continued, “offers the best pathway to achieve both.”
Cardinal McElroy noted that in February 2023, he indicated the Diocese would likely file for bankruptcy, following the approximately 450 legal claims of clergy and lay employee abuse from the past 80 years.
According to a June 13 Diocesan news release, nearly 60% of the allegations are more than 50 years old. The cases against the Diocese were filed after the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 218, expanding the window for victims of child abuse to file suit as adults.
Cardinal McElroy added that the parishes and high schools will not file for bankruptcy, but they “will have to contribute substantially to the ultimate settlement in order to bring finality to the liability they face.”
Cardinal McElroy wrote that that it is crucial to “keep in mind that it was the moral failure of those who directly abused children and teenagers, and the equally great moral failure of those who reassigned them or were not vigilant, that led to the psychological and spiritual wounds that still crush the hearts and souls of so many men and women in our midst.”
“The tremendous strides we have made in the past twenty years to protect minors in the Church and beyond cannot begin to mitigate the enormous moral responsibility that I, as your bishop, and the entire Catholic community continue to bear,” Cardinal McElroy concluded: “May God never let this shame pass from our sight, and may God’s tenderness envelop the innocent children and teenagers who were victimized.”
The post Catholic Diocese of San Diego files for bankruptcy appeared first on CatholicVote org.