The Diocese of Buffalo, New York, issued a statement last month saying announcing that it has encouraged all of its parishes to file for bankruptcy in order to reach a settlement with survivors of sexual abuse.
In a May 30 statement, the diocese said it had asked all its parishes to file Chapter 11 “rapid prepackaged” bankruptcy, which would allow each parish to restructure their finances and avoid liquidating their assets, in order to pay a $150 million settlement with more than 800 clerical abuse survivors and bring the case to an end. The diocese stressed that each parish will be bankrupt for only about 48 hours, and the process can proceed only if and when all parishes have approved the proposal.
This development comes nearly a year after the diocese announced that it planned to let go of approximately 22 percent of its staff to help fund the settlement.
“This approach has been discussed among all pastors and is the approach that was followed by parishes in the Diocese of Rockville Centre as well as in the Archdiocese of New Orleans which resulted in the successful resolution and emergence from their respective Chapter 11 cases,” the diocese wrote in its announcement.
“We will provide further updates as this process advances and are heartened at the possibility of at last providing victim-survivors the possibility of closure and healing,” the statement continued. “With the prospect of finally achieving this goal, we look to the future with renewed commitment and focus on our mission and work in service to the Catholic faithful throughout Western New York and our broader community.”
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