Showing posts with label Sex abuse claims. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sex abuse claims. Show all posts

Monday, February 26, 2024

Civil Conspiracy Claims Against Religious Organization Survive 1st Amendment Defenses

In re Gothard, (TX App., Feb. 22, 2024), is a mandamus action that is essentially an appeal of a trial court's refusal to dismiss civil conspiracy claims against Institute in Basic Life Principles and its founder, William Gothard. Plaintiffs claimed that ILBP is a cult that "teachers distorted and heretical Christian doctrines" that led to their sexual abuse by their father and brother. The Texas state appellate court rejected Relators', i.e. defendants', First Amendment defenses, saying in part:

Gothard maintains that religious teachings and the publication thereof are constitutionally protected.  IBLP contends the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine bars RPIs’ cause of action. It argues that the “alleged religiously motivated conduct of IBLP is the advocacy and publication of religious beliefs.”  According to Relators, if RPIs’ claim is considered valid, any religious leader who speaks on religious topics and publishes his beliefs could be subject to a civil cause of action if a listener or reader improperly applies those beliefs in sexually abusing another person or committing some other unlawful act. ...

But the First Amendment does not bar all claims against religious bodies.,,,  A court may exercise jurisdiction over a controversy if it can apply neutral principles of law that will not require inquiry into religious doctrine, interference with the free-exercise rights of believers, or meddling in church government....

The relevant question is whether it appears certain that resolution of [plaintiffs']’ claims will require the trial court to address purely ecclesiastical questions.... IBLP represents that its teachings and materials are based on scriptures from the Bible, none of which “advocate sexual abuse or any other form of sexual immorality.”  Accordingly, by its own admission, IBLP’s teachings and materials do not advocate sexual abuse and consequently, the intentional tort of sexual assault that underlies the civil conspiracy claim is not rooted in religious belief.  ....

Because sexual assault is not part of Relators’ belief system, we cannot definitively say, based on the record before us, that this is a situation in which religious beliefs are so intertwined with a tort claim so as to unconstitutionally burden Relators’ rights and embroil the court in an assessment of those religious beliefs.

Thursday, February 01, 2024

Recorded Statements Made to Church Leaders and Pastor Not Privileged

In State of Florida v. Gonzalez, (FL App., Jan. 31, 2024), a Florida state appellate court held that a video recording of a meeting between defendant and some 14 to 20 church leaders (including the pastor) did not meet the statutory requirements for the communication to be privileged. The court reversed the trial court's grant of defendant's motion to suppress the video at defendant's trial for sexually molesting the church pastor's 12-year-old granddaughter. The pastor called the meeting and instructed defendant "that he would need to explain to the church leaders the details of what he had done and that he would need to ask for forgiveness." The court said in part:

We reject the State's attempt to frame the communication here as being made only to S.S. [the victim's mother] and to the other church leaders.  Having viewed the video and reading the transcript therefrom, we conclude that M.S., Gonzalez's pastor, was among the recipients of Gonzalez's communication and, therefore, that part of section 90.505(2) was met. However, the privilege requires more than just a statement being made to a member of the clergy.  The dispute in this case centers on the other requirement: that the communication was confidential.  And that part of the test requires that the communication be "made privately for the purpose of seeking spiritual counsel or advice from the member of the clergy in the usual course of his or her practice or discipline and not intended for further disclosure except to other persons present in furtherance of the communication."  § 90.505(1)(b)....

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Negligence Claims Against Religious Boarding School Barred by Establishment Clause

In Drew v. Householder, (WD MO, Dec. 19, 2023), plaintiff sued Circle of Hope Boarding School, a fundamentalist Baptist school for girls, and its schoolmasters alleging that during the five years she was there she was subjected to sexual, physical and emotional abuse, and received inadequate and unaccredited formal instruction. She also alleged that the schoolmasters took $25,000 plus social security money from her. While allowing plaintiff to move ahead with several claims, the court dismissed, among others, her negligence claims, saying in part:

The Missouri Supreme Court has considered the extent to which judicial decision making may involve analysis of ecclesiastical matters without running afoul of the First Amendment’s establishment and free exercise clauses....

[A]llegations based in Missouri common law of negligence against religious institutions run afoul of the First Amendment, except in limited instances where the negligence allegation does not require interpretation of religious doctrine, policy, or interpretation.... It is plain neither of Plaintiff’s remaining negligence claims—Count Seven’s general negligence and Count Eight’s negligent supervision of students—falls into this narrow exception.... [N]egligent supervision claims against a religious institution violate the First Amendment because they require a court to evaluate “what the church ‘should know.’”... Likewise, general negligence claims against religious institutions violate the First Amendment, as it forces the court to consider how a reasonably prudent religious institution would act, thereby “excessively entangle[ing] itself in religious doctrine, policy, and administration.”...

... [T]his Court likewise finds that dismissal of Plaintiff’s negligence claims in Counts Six, Seven, Eight, and Eleven is appropriate also under the provisions of the Missouri Constitution declaring separation of church and state....

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Statutory Changes Allow Suit for Sex Abuse Against Jehovah's Witnesses Congregations

In C.P. v. Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, (NJ App., Nov. 15, 2023), a New Jersey appellate court affirmed a trial court's denial of summary judgement to Jehovah's Witnesses congregations and governing bodies. Plaintiff C.P. was sexually abused by Charles, her grandfather.  During the years the abuse was occurring, Charles also served as an elder at two Jehovah's Witnesses congregations.  In a 1994 lawsuit, plaintiff was awarded over $2.2 million in damages from her grandfather. Subsequently New Jersey's Charitable Immunity Act and statute of limitations were amended so that plaintiff could now sue the congregations involved, and this suit followed.  The court explained:

According to plaintiff, defendants knew Charles had engaged in sexual conduct with at least three minors—including herself—but did not discipline him and negligently retained him as an elder—a spiritual leader and mentor. Plaintiff claims defendants knew incidents of sexual abuse by their agents was prevalent within their organizations but nevertheless protected Charles and other sexual abusers from criminal prosecution through "mandated secrecy" policies and practices. Plaintiff also alleges defendants owed a "special duty" to protect her from her grandfather's sexual criminal acts because they held themselves out as "being able to provide a safe environment" for children. Ultimately, plaintiff contends Charles was disfellowshipped—excommunicated as a result of reports about and his admission to sexual misconduct, and therefore, defendants engaged in willful, wanton, or grossly negligent conduct.

Defendants claimed that the "entire controversy doctrine" and judicial estoppel bar the present suit. The court disagreed, saying in part:

As the trial court found, the two litigations involve separate claims. The 1994 action sought damages for harm directly inflicted by Charles; the 2021 action seeks damages from defendants for claims of negligent hiring and retention, alleging defendants knew and allowed Charles—a known child abuser—to serve as an elder in their church, exposing children to sexual molestation.

Monday, October 02, 2023

Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese Files For Bankruptcy Reorganization

The Archdiocese of Baltimore Announced last Friday that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in advance of the Oct. 1 effective date of a Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 which removes the statute of limitations for civil actions by victims of sexual abuse that occurred while the victim was a minor. In the Announcement, Archbishop Lori said in part:

... I have made the decision I believe will best allow the Archdiocese both to equitably compensate victim-survivors of child sexual abuse and ensure the local Church can continue its mission and ministries.

In an interview with Catholic Review, the Archbishop said in part:

... [S]ince the new law does not provide a defined period of time or “lookback window” for victim-survivors to file suits, as many other states have done, the archdiocese could have faced many years of liability for anything that happened over the course of the last 80 years. The Chapter 11 reorganization process creates a one-time window for victims of past cases of abuse to file a claim and participate in the settlement process. Once that process is complete, no future lawsuits or claims will be allowed in historic cases of abuse.

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

San Francisco Archdiocese Files for Bankruptcy Reorganization

In a press release yesterday, the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorganization. According to the press release:

The filing is necessary to manage and resolve the more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse brought against RCASF under California Assembly Bill 218, which allowed decades-old claims to be filed by December 31, 2022, that otherwise were time barred....

The 88 parishes within the Archdiocese are independently managed and self-financed and, along with their parochial schools, are not included in the filing. The Real Property Support Corporation, Capital Asset Support Corporation, high schools, Catholic cemeteries, St Patrick’s Seminary & University, and Catholic Charities associated with RCASF also are not included in the filing and will continue to operate as usual.

KEYT News reports on the filing and reactions to it.

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Colorado Window to Bring Expired Child Sex Abuse Claims Is Unconstitutional

In Aurora Public Schools v. A.S., (CO Sup.Ct., June 20, 2023), the Colorado Supreme Court held that the Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act 

is unconstitutionally retrospective [under Art. II, Sec. 11 of the Colorado Constitution] to the extent that it permits a victim to bring a claim for sexual misconduct based on conduct that predates the Act and for which previously available causes of action were time-barred.

The Act created a 3-year window during which victims could bring claims for any child sexual abuse that occurred between 1960 and 2022. In the case, plaintiffs sued a former high school coach and his school district for sexual abuse that occurred between 2001 and 2005. The court said in part:

The legislature was careful with S.B. 21-088 not to directly revive time-barred claims, which would plainly impair vested rights.... Instead, it created a three-year window to bring a new cause of action to accomplish the same ends. But the retrospectivity clause prohibits the legislature from “accomplish[ing] that indirectly, which it could not do directly.”...

... Our holding does not affect claims brought under the CSAAA for which the previously applicable statute of limitations had not run as of January 1, 2022.

AP reports on the decision.

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Sex Abuse Claims Arising Before Diocese Was Formed Are Disallowed in Bankruptcy Case

In In re Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, (SD NY Bkrptcy., May 26, 2023), a New York federal bankruptcy court disallowed nine sex-abuse claims filed in the bankruptcy reorganization of the Rockville Centre Catholic Diocese because they occurred before the Rockville Centre Diocese was formed and in territory which, at the time of the alleged abuse, belonged to the Diocese of Brooklyn. The court allowed claims by four other individuals to be filed in amended form because while they occurred before the Rockville Centre Diocese was incorporated in New York, they occurred after the Vatican formed the Diocese. The court said in part:

First, the Court finds that the First Amendment, and its intersection with canon law, is not a bar to the Court's ruling on this Objection. Second, the Court finds that the Objection must be sustained for Pre-Establishment Claims because the Diocese i) did not assume the prior liabilities and ii) the de facto merger exception does not apply. Finally, the Court finds that fairness requires allowing the Post-Establishment Claimants an opportunity to amend their claims.

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Illinois AG Releases Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse

Yesterday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul released its 696-page Report on Catholic Clergy Child Sex Abuse in Illinois (full text). The Report stems from an investigation thar began in 2018. The Attorney General's message that begins the report says in part:

As a direct result of this investigation and my team’s persistence, the dioceses have improved their policies relating to their investigations of child sex abuse allegations and the public disclosure of substantiated child sex abusers. Before this investigation, the Catholic dioceses of Illinois publicly listed only 103 substantiated child sex abusers. By comparison, this report reveals names and detailed information of 451Catholic clerics and religious brothers who abused at least 1,997 children across all of the dioceses in Illinois.

The Report concludes with a series of recommendations. It points out that in 2014, Illinois eliminated the statute of limitations for civil claims of child sex abuse. However, that law does not permit filling of claims for which the statute of limitations had run before 2014, and the Illinois Supreme Court has held that creating a look-back window for such claims would require an amendment to the state constitution. The Report suggests that Dioceses establish independent mediation and compensation programs that would cover these claims. AP discusses reactions to the AG's Report.

Tuesday, May 09, 2023

Oakland Catholic Diocese Files for Chapter 11 Reorganization.

The Catholic Diocese of Oakland, California announced yesterday that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, saying in part:

The filing is necessary in light of the more than 330 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse brought against RCBO under a recent California statute that allowed decades-old claims otherwise time barred and expired to be filed....

Most of the claims brought under the most recent California statute stem from allegations of sexual abuse that occurred in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s by priests who are no longer active in ministry and/or deceased. Chapter 11 is a court-supervised, transparent process that allows for the evaluation of the merits of each claim and gives claimants a say in the outcome and visibility into the proceedings and RCBO’s finances. With the Chapter 11 filing, legal actions against RCBO will stop, allowing RCBO to develop a plan of reorganization, based on assets and insurance coverage available to be used to settle claims with abuse survivors.

Catholic schools that operate in the diocese are separate entities and are not included in the bankruptcy filing.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

UK Supreme Court: Jehovah's Witness Organization Not Vicariously Liable for Rape by An Elder

In Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses v. BXB, (UK Sup. Ct., April 26, 2023), Britain's Supreme Court held that the Jehovah's Witnesses organization is not vicariously liable for the rape of a church member by an elder of the church.  The court said in part:

First, the rape was not committed while Mark Sewell was carrying out any activities as an elder on behalf of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was at his own home and was not at the time engaged in performing any work connected with his role as an elder. So, eg, he was not conducting a bible class, he was not evangelising or giving pastoral care, he was not on premises of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the incident had nothing to do with any service or worship of the Jehovah Witnesses. The lack of direct connection to the role assigned to him as an elder makes these facts significantly different from the institutional sex abuse cases where, eg, as part of their jobs the [defendants] ... were living in the same institution as their victims....

Secondly, in contrast to the child sexual abuse cases, at the time of the rape, Mark Sewell was not exercising control over Mrs B because of his position as an elder. It was because of her close friendship with Mark Sewell and because she was seeking to provide emotional support to him, and not because Mark Sewell had control over her as an elder, that Mrs B went to the back room. The driving force behind their being together in the room at the time of the rape was their close personal friendship not Mark Sewell’s role as an elder. Put another way, the primary reason that the rape took place was not because Mark Sewell was abusing his position as an elder but because he was abusing his position as a close friend of Mrs B when she was trying to help him....

The Court issued a press release summarizing the decision.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Bankruptcy Court Rejects Sex Abuse Claims Arising Outside Boundaries of Diocese

In In re Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York,(SD NY Bkrptcy., April 19, 2023), a New York federal bankruptcy court held that two groups of claims filed in the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorganization of the Rockville Centre Diocese should be expunged. The claims grow out of alleged sexual abuse by Franciscan brothers that occurred outside of the Diocese.  Claimants argued that the Rockville Centre Diocese had control over the Franciscan Brothers religious organization and so had control over the alleged abusers.  The court said in part:

It is well-established under New York law that for the Diocese to be liable for torts of alleged abusers, the Diocese must have had a duty to control them....

The Brooklyn Claimants’ position is that the Objection fails to settle the question of “control” as a matter of law considering the internal rules of the Catholic Church, and therefore there is a disputed fact that warrants discovery. The parties agree that the Franciscan Brothers operated the five schools and parishes at issue in the Brooklyn Claims, and the Brooklyn Claimants focus solely on whether the Debtor had control over the Franciscan Brothers. They contend that the Diocese had control over the Subject Entities through its control over the Franciscan Brothers....

The additional allegations in the Brooklyn Response frame Catholic Canon Law as a set of rules that govern employer-employee or principal-agent liability outside of secular legal  principles governing these relationships. Not so. As discussed above, there is a clear constitutional prohibition on this Court weighing in on the parties’ dispute over Catholic Canon Law.... New York courts have rejected the argument that Catholic Canon Law imposes diocesan liability where secular law would not.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Defrocked Cardinal McCarrick Indicted in Wisconsin on Sexual Assault Charge

 In an April 17 press release, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Walworth County District   Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld announced that former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, age 92, has been charged with one count of Fourth-Degree Sexual Assault.  The charge stems from an incident that occurred in April of 1977. The complaint alleges that McCarrick repeatedly abused the victim sexually over time. In 2019, the Vatican defrocked McCarrick because of past sexual misconduct. (See prior posting.)

Wednesday, April 05, 2023

Maryland Attorney General Releases Report on Child Sexual Abuse in Baltimore Archdiocese

Maryland's Attorney General today released a Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore (full text). The 463-page report details abuse by each of 156 individuals , with the names of ten of the individuals redacted. The Report says in part:

As the case descriptions in this Report make clear, from the 1940s through 2002, over a hundred priests and other Archdiocese personnel engaged in horrific and repeated abuse of the most vulnerable children in their communities while Archdiocese leadership looked the other way. Time and again, members of the Church’s hierarchy resolutely refused to acknowledge allegations of child sexual abuse for as long as possible. When denial became impossible, Church leadership would remove abusers from the parish or school, sometimes with promises that they would have no further contact with children. Church documents reveal with disturbing clarity that the Archdiocese was more concerned with avoiding scandal and negative publicity than it was with protecting children.

WBAL's news story has additional details.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Prosecutors' Council Releases Report on Past Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy In Georgia

Last week, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia released its Report of Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah (full text) (press release). The 267-page report stems from a review of Catholic Archdiocese and Diocese records, files, documents and reports. Church officials cooperated fully in the review. The Report concludes in part:

This file review did not uncover any current, ongoing, or unreported sexual abuse by priests or criminal conduct. It did reveal historical criminal allegations in Georgia against priests. None of those priests could be prosecuted because they are either deceased, have already been prosecuted or the statute of limitations expired long before the review was agreed to by the parties. The evaluation of the files also uncovered that the Church, outside of and within Georgia, relocated priests after they were accused of sexually abusing children. At times, it appeared the church did so without providing notice to officials in the new parish, diocese, or archdiocese of the prior accusations of sexual abuse of children....

Further, this review uncovered historical acts by the church and its personnel that enabled sexual abuse of minors by its priests and prevented the discovery and investigation of these acts by public or civil authorities....

[S]ince 2002, the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah have been notifying the appropriate authorities either by contacting the Department of Family and Children Services or law enforcement of child abuse allegations reported to their organizations....

Atlanta Journal Constitution discusses the Report.

Friday, March 17, 2023

Albany, NY Catholic Diocese Files for Bankruptcy Reoganization

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York announced that on Wednesday it filed a petition for bankruptcy reorganization in federal bankruptcy court.  The Bishop's letter to the faithful said in part:

We maintain global mediation would have provided the most equitable distribution of the Diocese’s limited financial resources but as more Child Victims Act (CVA) cases reached large settlements, those limited funds have been depleted. The Chapter 11 filing is the best way, at this point, to ensure that all Victim/Survivors with pending CVA litigation will receive some compensation. The decision to file was not arrived at easily, but we, as a Church, can get through this and grow stronger together.

To date, the Diocese has been named in more than 400 CVA lawsuits which were filed between Aug. 15, 2019, and Aug. 14, 2021. With the assistance of the Court and demonstrating its ongoing good faith commitment to Victim/Survivor claims, the Diocese has separately settled more than 50 CVA cases....

This filing also puts on hold the lawsuits involving the St Clare’s pensioners. That was not our purpose for filing. While many questions remain regarding the St. Clare’s pension fund, the plight of the pensioners is of great concern to me. The St. Clare’s pensioners are certainly close to my heart and, as I would do with anyone in a difficult situation, I offer my pastoral care.

CNA reports on the bankruptcy filing.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa, California Files for Bankruptcy

Last week, the Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa, California (the state's smallest Catholic diocese) announced that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. According to the Diocese, the decision was made because of the large number of child sex abuse lawsuits filed against it during a 3-year window created by the California legislature for suits to be filed even though the statute of limitations had previously run. Some of the lawsuits relate to conduct that occurred as long as 60 years ago. The Diocese said in part:

These cases are too numerous to settle individually and so they have accumulated until the closing of the three-year window. Now that the window is closed, we have received notice of at least 160 claims and we have information that perhaps more than 200 claims have been filed in total against the Diocese.

 ... [I]n 2003 the Diocese faced similar circumstances but with many fewer cases. At that time excess property was sold, money borrowed and the Diocese paid approximately $12 million dollars with an additional $19 million coming from insurance. Since then, the Diocese has expended an additional $4 million on individual settlements. Now, facing at least 160 new cases, with excess property depleted, with insurance for many of the years either non-existent or exhausted it is impossible to see any way forward without recourse to the bankruptcy protections our Country makes available....

[W]e are deeply saddened that so many have endured abuse in the past and that the scourge of child sexual abuse is a part of our diocesan history. The present action of the Diocese is necessary and through this process we hope to provide for those who have come forward and who are yet to come forward at least some compensation for the harms they have endured.

Links to all the legal filings in the case are available at this website. Catholic News Agency reports on the bankruptcy filing.

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Nuns' Hostile Work Environment and Retaliation Claims Can Move Forward

In Brandenburg v. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, (SD NY, Feb. 23, 2023), a New York federal district court held that it can proceed to adjudicate hostile work environment and some of the retaliation claims brought by two nuns against the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and several of its clergy members. The nuns claimed that Father Makris, the school's director of student life and their "spiritual father" subjected them to unwanted sexual attention for 13 to 14 years. According to the court:

[T]he ministerial exception flows from the plaintiff’s status as a “minister.” In this case, however, Defendants’ argument has nothing to do with the fact that Plaintiffs were sanctified nuns; instead, it flows from Father Makris’s status as minister and the alleged rationale for his conduct.... 

These and other cases make plain that the First Amendment does not shield all decisions by religious institutions, whether or employment-related or otherwise, from review. Instead, a court is barred from adjudicating a dispute involving a religious institution “only where resolution of the dispute will require the Court or a jury to choose between competing religious views or interpretations of church doctrine or dogma in order to resolve the dispute.”... 

Defendants do ... assert a religious rationale for ... one relatively minor aspect of Father Makris’s conduct: his kissing of Plaintiffs..... [T]he fact that Defendants proffer a religious rationale does not mean that Defendants should be granted immunity from Plaintiffs’ claims. It merely means that Plaintiffs “may not offer a conflicting interpretation of the teachings of the [Greek Orthodox] Church or canon law to rebut [Defendants’] proffered religious reason.”... [H]owever, Plaintiffs are entitled to offer evidence and argument that Defendants’ proffered religious rationale was not the true rationale for Father Makris’s behavior.

Friday, February 17, 2023

Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan for Harrisburg Diocese Approved By Court

On Feb. 15, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania gave final approval to the Plan of Reorganization for the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. (Full text of Reorganization Plan.) (Announcement by Diocese.) A Questions and Answers document explaining the Plan says in part:

The Plan outlines how the RCDH and related entities will (a) establish a Survivor Compensation Trust, (b) provide funding to the Trust in an amount equal to $7,500,000 to provide financial restitution for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, and (c) adopt enhanced child protection protocols. In addition to the financial restitution from the RCDH and related entities, current and historical insurance providers will also contribute $10,750,000 to the Trust....

Prior to filing for reorganization, the RCDH authorized an independent Survivor Compensation Program be established, in order to provide financial restitution to abuse survivors. Through this program, $12,784,450 was provided to assist 111 survivors.... 

More than 60 proofs of claim were submitted during the reorganization process and may be eligible for financial distributions from the Survivor Compensation Trust....

The majority of the claims involve accusations against Diocesan priests. As part of the confirmation process, the Diocese issued a list of persons involved in the claims. That list is available www.hbgdiocese.org/reorganization-information. All claims of abuse received during the bankruptcy process were reported to law enforcement.

Links to all the major legal documents filed in the reorganization are available on the Diocese's website. WHP CBS21 reports on the Plan's approval. The Survivor's Network SNAP issued a press release reacting to the Plan approval.

Friday, December 30, 2022

Court Approves Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan for Santa Fe Archdiocese

The Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico announced yesterday that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court has confirmed a Plan of Reorganization that has been agreed to by the Committee representing victims of clergy abuse and by the Archdiocese. According to an Open Letter from the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors recommending that abuse victims vote to accept the plan:

Under the Plan, the Debtor, its affiliates and their insurers will create a settlement fund of approximately $121.5 million (the “Settlement Amount”) upon the effective date of the Plan. The Plan also includes measures to enhance child protection, including the first-ever publication of abuse related documents through an archive administered by the University of New Mexico.

All the Chapter 11 Plan Documents are available on the Archdiocese's website. In announcing the court's confirmation of the plan, Archbishop Wester said in part:

While I hope and pray that the bankruptcy outcome will bring a measure of justice and relief to the victims of clergy sexual abuse, I realize that nothing can ever compensate them for the criminal and horrendous abuse they endured. I pledge that the Archdiocese of Santa Fe will remain vigilant in protecting children and young people from clergy sexual abuse, doing all we can to assure them of a safe and protective environment in the Catholic Church. We will continue to monitor the safeguards we have put in place and implement the non-monetary agreements....

Once again, I express my most profound sorrow and contrition for those who have endured clergy sexual abuse. This is a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance and which has no place in the Catholic Church: not now, not ever.

AP reports on the court's action and has additional background on the proceedings.