Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco Declares Bankruptcy

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone announced late on Monday that the Archdiocese would be filing for bankruptcy, becoming the latest to do so in California because of the high number of child sexual abuse lawsuits.

In the past ten years, the number of Roman Catholic Dioceses and Archdioceses declaring bankruptcy in the U.S. has gone up dramatically, with over a dozen declared in the past few years alone. California, with a large Catholic population, has seen its fair share of these bankruptcies.

The Catholic Diocese of Stockton was the first when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014. In 2023, the Dioceses of Santa Rosa and Oakland have both filed.

The bankruptcies have been caused by the dramatic rise of child sexual assault cases filed against different Dioceses nationwide, bringing severe financial strain on Dioceses because of dozens, and in some cases, hundreds of lawsuits all coming at once. In California, a recent law has also been responsible for so many Dioceses declaring bankruptcy in the state this year. AB 218, which was signed into law in 2019, specifically increased the time limit on childhood sexual assault cases to “22 years from the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 5 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that the psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by sexual assault, whichever is later.” While the law ended at the end of 2022, many claims are still being processed, hence the growing number of lawsuits.

Faced with the high number of new lawsuits, San Francisco became the third such Diocese to declare bankruptcy in the state this year on Monday. While the exact number of lawsuits facing the San Francisco Diocese isn’t known, they said earlier this month that the number was over 500. In addition, the Diocese disclosed just how tight finances currently were in the filed bankruptcy petition, with between $100 million and $500 million in assets being listed, and current liabilities also coming in between $100 million and $500 million. By filing, all legal actions against the Church in San Francisco must stop, and a settlement plan with those who filed must be developed.

“The unfortunate reality is that the Archdiocese has neither the financial means nor the practical ability to litigate all of these abuse claims individually, and therefore, after much consideration, concluded that the bankruptcy process was the best solution for providing fair and equitable compensation to the innocent survivors who have been harmed,” said Archbishop Cordileone on Monday. “We believe the bankruptcy process is the best way to provide a compassionate and equitable solution for survivors of abuse while ensuring that we continue the vital ministries to the faithful and to the communities that rely on our services and charity.

“Only the legal entity of the Archdiocese itself would be covered by the bankruptcy filings. Our parishes, schools, and other entities are not included in the filing. Our mission will continue as it always has.”

Over 500 lawsuits filed in San Francisco against the Catholic Church

Abuse survivors groups immediately criticized the Archdiocese, saying that information on the incidents would likely not come to light now as a result, and that the Archdiocese likely had enough to settle claims before filing.

“Cordileone will use every tactic and tool at his disposal to continue to run from the truth,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing over 100 abuse victims, in a statement. “He refuses to identify offenders in his diocese, he attempts legal maneuvers to eliminate the California Child Victims Act, and now he is attempting a last-ditch effort to hide the truth behind bankruptcy.”

Experts warned on Tuesday that San Francisco would likely not be the last Diocese to declare bankruptcy in California this year. The Diocese of San Diego, which currently has around 400 abuse lawsuits filed against it, has been threatening to declare bankruptcy all year. Currently, the Diocese has said that they are likely to file around November, although a final date is still unknown.

“The numbers have just been incredible,” lawyer Mark Welsh, who has been a part of several Catholic Church lawsuits in 6 states, told the Globe on Tuesday. “Over 330 lawsuits in Oakland. 400 in San Diego. Over 500 in San Francisco. Between 2019 and 2022 in California, because of AB 218, over 3,000 have been filed in the state against these Dioceses. A lot of Dioceses just had a steady albeit lower number of suits coming in. They can handle that. Now, it is all at once with people rushing to beat the deadline. That’s why this is happening like this.”

“San Francisco isn’t the last, for sure. San Diego is on the horizon, and others are starting to falter. Excluding Stockton, because they filed 9 years ago, that is 3 this year. There are 12 Dioceses. With San Diego not being counted, the other 8 have roughly 2,000 or so cases against them in the same time period. Who knows how many more will file at this point.”

The San Diego Diocese is expected to announce their bankruptcy later this year.