Bankruptcy – United Yam

San Francisco Archdiocese will pay $395 million to abuse victims, Archbishop Cordileone says #Catholic The Archdiocese of San Francisco will offer abuse victims nearly $400 million as part of a broad settlement of the substantial number of sex abuse lawsuits brought against it. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said on June 29 that the proposed $395 million settlement would “resolve all lawsuits related to child sexual abuse” brought against the archdiocese under California’s expanded statute of limitations. Cordileone said the archdiocese in the past has helped parishes, schools, and other archdiocesan entities absorb the cost of sex-abuse lawsuits, but he said the “current environment” of abuse lawsuits is “much more challenging.” Schools and parishes “will need to contribute funds” to the settlement both in order to ensure their own legal safeguards and to “share in the work of making amends for the harm of the past,” he said.The archdiocese announced it was filing for bankruptcy in August 2023 in response to more than 500 civil lawsuits filed against it. The voluminous lawsuits were brought against the archdiocese under California’s 2019 Assembly Bill 218, which significantly expanded the statute of limitations in the state regarding civil sex abuse lawsuits. In a separate release, the archdiocese said it would seek to “preserve the vital ministries of Catholic education and parish life” even as it moves to pay out the major nine-figure settlement. The archdiocese has “no current plans to close schools or parishes to reach the proposed settlement,” it said. The settlement has yet to be finalized in federal bankruptcy court. The archdiocese said that all litigation involving the lawsuits has been paused while the parties “work in good faith on the details of a consensual Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.”The settlement represents one of the larger abuse payout amounts in U.S. Catholic history, though a few others have been considerably larger. In October 2024 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced an $880 million clergy abuse settlement, while the New York Archdiocese in May said it would pay out $800 million to abuse victims. Cordileone on June 29 acknowledged that “no financial settlement can erase the painful legacy of these past actions.” But “we believe this proposal offers a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have carried the burden of this abuse for a lifetime,” he said. The archdiocese “remain[s] committed to fostering healing and reconciliation and to accompanying all who deserve our unwavering respect, attention, and prayers,” he said.

unitedyam June 29, 2026June 30, 2026

The proposed settlement will “resolve all lawsuits” regarding child sex abuse involving archdiocesan officials, the prelate said in a press release.

New York Diocese of Ogdensburg will pay $45 million to sex abuse victims #Catholic The Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, will pay out $45 million to abuse victims, part of a yearslong bankruptcy process that began after dozens of sex abuse cases were filed against it. The diocese said in a May 19 statement that the diocesan administration, along with “parishes, schools, and other Catholic entities,” would contribute into the settlement, which would be organized as a “survivor trust.” “Once the plan is confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court, the $45 million contributed to the survivor trust … will be available for distribution to survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated against them by clergy, religious, lay employees, and volunteers,” the diocese said. Ogdensburg Bishop Terry LaValley prayed that the settlement “will bring peace and healing to all survivors and to all the faithful whose hearts were broken by the gravely sinful conduct of Church leaders.”“The great harm that has been caused by this sinful behavior must never be allowed to happen again,“ he said. ”It is my sincere hope that this process has brought the survivors some comfort and peace.”The diocese "is committed to ensuring the safety of all persons entrusted to our care,” the bishop said. The New York-based law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates said in a May 19 press release that the diocese and abuse victims “will continue negotiations regarding significant nonmonetary provisions,” including “enhancements to child protection policies and the public disclosure of information related to clergy and other personnel accused of sexual abuse.”The Ogdensburg Diocese filed for bankruptcy in July 2023, the sixth diocese in New York state to do so. The bankruptcy filing came as the diocese was facing dozens of abuse lawsuits filed under the stateʼs 2019 Child Victims Act, which significantly expanded the window in which abuse victims could file lawsuits against abusers and institutions. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, LaValley said dealing with the lawsuits on a case-by-case basis would be “slow” and “unpredictable.” “Reorganization ensures that each survivor receives just compensation," the bishop said at the time. "It eliminates a race to the courthouse in which the earliest cases settled or brought to judgment could exhaust the resources available to pay claims, leaving nothing for victims whose cases are resolved later."Earlier this month it was announced that the Archdiocese of New York would pay $800 million into an abuse settlement there, with the amount covering around 1,300 victims who also filed under the state Child Victims Act.

Archdiocese of Baltimore proposes nearly $170 million settlement for abuse victims #Catholic The Archdiocese of Baltimore is proposing nearly $170 million in compensation for abuse victims amid its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings there.A May 15 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court revealed that the archdiocese would contribute just under $44 million to an abuse settlement for survivors, while “settling insurers” would pay a total of $125 million into the fund.The insurance amount represents a 25% increase from an earlier proposed contribution of $100 million.In a statement on the filing, the archdiocese said the overall plan “seeks to provide equitable compensation to survivors while sustaining the Church’s mission and ministries.”The proposal “reflects a commitment to transparency and a realistic assessment of available resources,” it said. The archdiocese noted that “no final agreement has yet been achieved.” The proposal would also establish a “Survivor Compensation Trust” to “evaluate claims and distribute compensation to survivors.”The archdiocese “will continue to listen, to learn, and to seek a resolution that honors the dignity of survivors and strengthens the mission of the Church for generations to come,” the statement said. In 2024 the Baltimore Archdiocese sued multiple insurers over what it claimed was a failure to pay abuse claims for which the insurers were contractually obligated.U.S. dioceses in recent years have frequently turned to insurers to help cover major abuse settlements, though insurers have at times challenged claims from dioceses on the grounds that their insurance policies did not cover instances of sex abuse. Marie Reilly, a professor of law at Penn State University and an expert in bankruptcy litigation, including Catholic diocesan bankruptcy proceedings, told EWTN News in 2025 that starting in the 1990s, insurance companies mostly changed how they cover sexual abuse.“Up until about the mid-’90s, a general liability policy used to include coverages for employee liability,” she said. “It would cover sex abuse claims against the diocese stemming from an employee’s abuse.”“After 1996, insurance policies issued under new revised standards just don’t provide that coverage anymore,” she said.