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Settlements and bankruptcies in Catholic sex abuse cases have affected dioceses, whose compensation payments have totaled in the billions of dollars.
According toDonald Cozzens, "by the end of the mid 1990s, it was estimated that... more than half a billion dollars had been paid in jury awards,settlements and legal fees." This figure grew to about one billion dollars by 2002.[1] Roman Catholics spent around $615 million on sex abuse cases in 2007.[2]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2024) |
| Date | Diocese | Charges made against | Amount | Number of Victims | Comments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994, May | Lincoln, NE | $40,000 | 1 | |||
| 1997 | Dallas, TX | Rudolph Kos | $31 million | Originally $119.6 million via jury award. On appeal reduced. | [3] | |
| 2003, Jun | Louisville, KY | 34 priests, two religious brothers, and three lay people | $25.7 million | 240 | [4] | |
| 2003, Sep | Boston, MA | 140 priests and two others | $85 million | 552 | [5] | |
| 2004 | Davenport, IA | Reverend William Wiebler (12 victims) and others | $9 million | 37 | ||
| 2004, Jul 6 | Portland, OR | $53 million (more than) | 100 (over) | Filed for bankruptcy,Chapter 11. | [6] | |
| 2004, Sep | Tucson, AZ | $22.2 million | 50 (over) | Filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy, after reaching an agreement with its victims | [7] | |
| 2004, Dec | Spokane, WA | $48 million (at least) | Filed for bankruptcy, payment was a part (has to be approved by judge and victims) | [8] | ||
| 2005, Jan 3 | Orange, CA | 30 priests, 2 nuns and 11 others | $100 million | 87 | In 1997, BishopTod Brown himself was accused of having sexually abused a 12-year-old boy in 1965 as pastor inBakersfield. Church officials dismissed the claims and he denied the allegation. Eleuterio Ramos 11 cases, Siegfried Widera, who later committed suicide, 9 cases, 25 case uninvolved | [9][10][11][12][13] |
| 2006, Oct 10 | Davenport, IA | Lawrence Soens | 15 | Filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy, alleged victims were 15 students from 1960s who accused Bishop Soens who denied the accusations. | [14][15] | |
| 2006, Dec | Phoenix, AZ | Priest Mark Lehman and teen minister Phil Baniewicz | $100,000 | 1 (William Cesolini) | [16] | |
| 2006, Dec | Los Angeles, CA | 22 priests | $60 million | 45 | [17][18] | |
| 2007 | Los Angeles, CA | Father Mark Falvey | $16 million | 9 | Ordered to pay. | [19] |
| 2007, Jan 15 | Charleston, SC | 26 priests (at least) | $12 million | many | Bishop Robert J. Baker agreed to pay. | [20] |
| 2007, Jul 16 | Los Angeles, CA | $660 million | 508 (over) | ArchbishopRoger Mahony and the Los Angeles diocese apologized for abuses by priests describing them as "terriblesin and crime", after settling with over 508 alleged victims | [21][22][23][24] | |
| 2007, Feb 27 | San Diego, CA | Robert Brom | $198.1 million | 144 | Filed forChapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits about childhood abuse was due to be heard—it became the largest diocese to seek bankruptcy protection. | [25] |
| 2008, Mar 7 | Fairbanks, AK | 130 | Filed for bankruptcy due to monetary concerns over 130 lawsuits made byAlaska natives claiming to have been abused by priests, and other church employees. | |||
| 2008, May 29 | Sacramento, CA | Frs. Arthur & Mark Falvey | $100,000 | 1 | The Jesuit religious order paid $100,000 to a person who alleged he was raped and molested from age 7–11 at St Ignatius Parish, by identical twin brother priests Fr. Arthur Falvey of Sacramento, and Fr. Mark Falvey of Los Angeles. | |
| 2009, Feb | Memphis, TN | Fr Juan Carlos Duran | $2 million | 1 | Fr. Duran had previous sexual history with minors in St. Louis, Panama and Bolivia. | [28] |
| 2009, Oct | Savannah, GA | Wayland Brown | $4.24 million | 1 | [29] | |
| 2014 | Los Angeles, CA | $13 million | 17 | |||
| 2018, Sept | Brooklyn, NY | Angelo Serrano | $27.5 million | 4 | At this time, largest settlement against the Catholic Church and second largest individual sum paid. | [30] |
| 2018, Dec | Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN | $210 million | 450 | Largest bankruptcy settlement in the country; $40 million from the archdiocese and parishes, $170 million from insurers | [31][32] | |
| 2024 | Los Angeles, CA | 300 of clergy members (approximately) | $880 million | 1,350 |
 |
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2024) |
Citing monetary concerns arising from impending trials on sex abuse claims, theArchdiocese of Portland (Oregon) filed for Chapter 11bankruptcy on July 6, 2004, hours before two abuse trials were set to begin, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy. If granted, bankruptcy would mean pending and future lawsuits would be settled in federal bankruptcy court. The archdiocese had settled more than a hundred previous claims for a sum of over $53 million. The filing seeks to protect parish assets, school money and trust funds from abuse victims; the archdiocese's contention is that parish assets are not the archdiocese's assets. Plaintiffs in the cases against the archdiocese have argued that the Catholic Church is a single entity, and that theVatican should beliable for any damages awarded in judgment of pending sexual abuse cases.[6]
TheDiocese of Tucson filed for bankruptcy in September 2004. The diocese reached an agreement with its victims, which the bankruptcy judge approved June 11, 2005, specifying terms that included allowing the diocese reorganization to continue in return for a $22.2 million settlement.[33]
In December 2004, theDiocese of Spokane, Washington agreed to pay at least $48 million as compensation to those abused by priests as part of its bankruptcy filing. This payout has to be agreed upon by victims and another judge.[34]
On October 10, 2006, theDiocese of Davenport filed forChapter 11 protection.[14] The decision to file for bankruptcy was driven by many claims which focused onBishop Lawrence Soens, who had been accused of fondling as many as 15 students during his tenure as priest and principal atRegina Catholic High School in Iowa City during the 1960s. Soens denies the allegations. A judge discharged one suit in October 2006.[15]
On February 27, 2007, theDiocese of San Diego filed forChapter 11 protection, hours before the first of about 150 lawsuits was due to be heard. San Diego became the largest diocese to postpone its legal problems in this way.[25]
On March 7, 2008, theDiocese of Fairbanks filed for bankruptcy after 130 civil suits filed by Alaska natives who claim to be abused by priests, and other church employees, beginning in the 1950s.[26]
In February 2009, theSociety of Jesus' Oregon Province, which also was based in other states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as well.[35] The Province agreed in 2011 to pay $166 million to sex abuse victims.[36]
On October 18, 2009, theDiocese of Wilmington filed for bankruptcy as the first of some eight lawsuits (of more than 100 potential) was scheduled to go to trial the next day.[37][38]
In 2011, the North American chapter of theCongregation of Christian Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to the financial burden caused by sex abuse lawsuits.[39] In 2013, the North American chapter agreed to pay approximately $16.5 million in damages to more than 400 men and women who were sexually or physically abused as children by members of the order.[40] Between 2006 and 2011, the order had also paid approximately 25.6 million to victims in 50 abuse cases.[40]
On January 4, 2011, theArchdiocese of Milwaukee announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy. The church was facing more than 23 lawsuits, and attempts to reach a mediated settlement with victims failed in December 2010. This came two days before the bishop was scheduled to be deposed about these cases, and after the church had refused to release the names or personnel records of the priests accused. The opposing attorney said that the bankruptcy filing was an attempt to delay turning over church records on the cases.
The Milwaukee archdiocese has already paid out over $29 million to settle 200 cases over the last 20 years. They said that these additional cases would cause hefty legal fees that the archdiocese could not afford. The archdiocese has assets of about $98.4 million, but $90 million of that is restricted for specific uses.[41]
In 2014, theRoman Catholic Diocese of Stockton filed forChapter 11 Bankruptcy.[42] Under the bankruptcy agreement, which received court approval in 2017,[42] a payout of 15 million was given to over two dozen sex abuses.[43]
On January 15, 2019, it was announced that theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Agaña inGuam filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to the financial burden created by the overwhelming amount of sex abuse lawsuits.[55]
On September 12, 2019, sex abuse lawsuits forced theRoman Catholic Diocese of Rochester forChapter 11 Bankruptcy.[56][57] The Diocese is the first Catholic diocese in the state of New York to file for bankruptcy and also the 20th Catholic diocese in the U.S. states to do so as well.[57]
On February 19, 2020, theDiocese of Harrisburg filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after disclosing to federal bankruptcy court it has more than 200 creditors and estimated liabilities between $50 million and $100 million, with assets of less than $10 million. The Harrisburg Diocese was the first Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania to seek bankruptcy protection.[58]
On February 28, 2020, theDiocese of Buffalo filed for bankruptcy as a result of numerous sexual abuse lawsuits.[59]
On May 1, 2020, theArchdiocese of New Orleans filed for bankruptcy in part due to pending sex abuse lawsuits.[60][61]
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