The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, has filed a reorganization plan to exit its Chapter 11 bankruptcy status. The plan comes after the diocese agreed to pay a $150 million settlement to survivors of clergy sex abuse.
According to an Oct. 1 diocesan news release, the reorganization plan aims to ensure compensation for the survivors and outlines the diocese’s financial restructuring.
Bishop Michael Fisher said in the release that the diocese’s highest priority is to “work toward the healing of those who have been harmed spiritually, mentally and physically by the crime of sexual abuse, and to provide some semblance of justice and closure.”
“This plan represents our best effort to deliver on that priority, as we also work to define a new, more hopeful era of Catholic faith and impact across our region,” he added.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 and reached a settlement with the survivors in April. Presenting the court with its reorganization plan is another step towards resolving the sex abuse claims and emerging from bankruptcy.
According to the release, the plan states that monetary contributions from the diocese and its affiliates will fund a settlement trust and the Abuse Claims Settlement Fund to pay the survivors.
The diocese has asked its parishes to contribute up to $80 million of the settlement, a request that parishioners at five churches across the diocese have objected to, even going as far as to file a lawsuit against the diocese. New York’s Supreme Court dismissed the suit in September.
The diocese’s insurers have also agreed to pay an additional $123.9 million into the settlement fund. According to Buffalo CBS affiliate WIVB, the settlement will resolve more than 800 claims of sex abuse.
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