(SAN DIEGO, Feb. 10, 2023) – Cardinal Robert McElroy, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Diego, announced that the diocese may consider filing for bankruptcy to provide a path to ensure its assets are used equitably to compensate all victims of sexual abuse.
The announcement came Thursday night during a meeting with pastors and lay parish officials where the cardinal answered questions and distributed a letter that will be handed out to parishioners at weekend Masses.
The new claims are a result of AB 218 legislation, passed in 2019, which revived any time-barred claim for sexual abuse of a minor and eliminated the statute of limitations for any lawsuit filed between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022.
Below is the content of Cardinal McElroy’s letter:
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Three years ago, the California State Legislature lifted the statute of limitations for lawsuits involving the sexual abuse of minors. This provided three years for individuals to file legal claims that they had been sexually abused. As a result of this change in the law, the Diocese of San Diego has received approximately 400 lawsuits seeking monetary compensation for alleged acts of sexual abuse by priests, religious, and lay people within the Diocese. The majority of these lawsuits concern actions that took place more than a half-century ago.
An important aspect of these lawsuits is that none of them allege sexual abuse by priests of the Diocese of San Diego who are currently in ministry. This is a clear reflection that the Church has taken great strides to eradicate sexual abuse of minors in its lifetime and promote the protection of minors.
Still, the Diocese must face the daunting legal costs of responding to these new lawsuits. In 2007, the Diocese paid $198 million to settle 144 abuse lawsuits that were filed during a previous lifting of the statute of limitations. This depleted most of the Diocese’s assets. Even with insurance, the Diocese will not be able to pay similar sums now. This challenge is compounded by the fact that a bill has now been introduced in the Legislature that seeks to eliminate the statute of limitations altogether, leaving the Diocese vulnerable to potential lawsuits forever.
For all of these reasons, we could be facing a time when the Diocese enters bankruptcy in the coming months. Bankruptcy would provide a path to ensure that the Diocese’s assets are used equitably to compensate all victims of sexual abuse, while continuing the Church’s ministries of faith formation, pastoral life, and outreach to the poor and marginalized. It would also provide a fund for future sexual abuse claimants. Finally, bankruptcy would provide a conclusion to the wave of lawsuits covering alleged abuse dating back 75 years.
In recent years parish assets have been managed by individual parish corporations, and before that they were managed by the Diocese in trust for each particular parish community. Almost without exception in other diocesan bankruptcies, parish assets have remained separate. At the same time, parishes in a bankrupt diocese usually contribute some limited money to the plaintiffs’ funds.
The sexual abuse of minors by priests and the way it was handled in the life of the Church constitutes the greatest sin of our Church in the last century. We must and will continue to protect minors with ever-deepening vigor, provide healing resources to those who have been abused, and use our diocesan assets to compensate those who were victimized. We will never forget the harm we have done.
I ask for your prayers in the coming months for our Diocese, our parish communities, and especially for all victims of sexual abuse. May God’s grace be with us deeply in this difficult time.
My best wishes to you.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Robert Cardinal McElroy
Bishop of San Diego