Baltimore Archdiocese files for bankruptcy before law takes effect

The Archdiocese of Baltimore on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization days before a new state law goes into effect removing the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims and allowing victims to sue their abusers decades after the fact.

The step will allow the oldest diocese in the United States “to equitably compensate victim-survivors of child sexual abuse” while the local Catholic church continues its mission and ministries, Archbishop William E. Lori said in a statement posted on the archdiocese website.

But attorneys and advocates said the church is simply trying to protect its assets and silence abuse victims by halting all civil claims against the archdiocese and shifting the process to bankruptcy court, a less transparent forum.

Michael McDonnell, interim executive director of the national group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the Baltimore archdiocese is following in the footsteps of other jurisdictions across the country that have similarly sought bankruptcy protection to offset settlement costs and avoid further scrutiny.

“Catholic bishops are employing the same deception from coast to coast,” he said. “Cover up child sex offenses while maintaining the ministry of the abusers. Next, oppose any modifications to the statute of limitations that might make those offenses more visible. Finally, go to federal bankruptcy courts and act as though you have run out of money when secular laws offer a window to justice. When will church officials make true amends?”

While the archdiocese itself can't be sued now, other entities such as Catholic schools and individual parishes still can under the new state law, which goes into effect Sunday.

Maryland lawmakers passed the law in April, weeks after the state attorney general released a nearly 500-page investigative report detailing the scope of child sexual abuse and cover-up within the nation's oldest Catholic diocese. The report lists more than 150 clergy who were credibly accused of abusing over 600 victims dating back several decades. It paints a damning picture of the archdiocese.

Rob Jenner, a Baltimore attorney representing abuse victims, said the bankruptcy decision deals them yet another blow. The fact that church leaders waited until the last minute adds insult to injury because victims spent months getting their hopes up, meeting with lawyers and reliving the abuse, he said.