The Diocese of Rockville Centre says the combination of an avalanche of sex abuse claims and the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic have forced it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Bishop John Barres announced the move Thursday as the New York Catholic Church sex abuse paperwork was filed on behalf of a diocese that serves Long Island’s estimated 1.4 million Roman Catholics. It is now the largest diocese in the U.S. to declare bankruptcy, the Associated Press reported.

Barres appeared in a video message posted on the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s website addressing the bankruptcy. During his remarks, the bishop said the number of civil claims made against the region’s churches, many of which were filed in the last year since the state’s Child Victims Act was passed and the statute of limitations on civil lawsuits temporarily waived, have been overwhelming.

“What became clear was that the diocese was not going to be able to carry out its spiritual, charitable and educational missions if it were to continue to shoulder the increasingly heavy burden of litigation expenses associated with these cases,” Barres said.

Lawmakers Opened the Door for Victims, Exposed Church Financially

New York legislators passed the Child Victims Act in 2019, extending the statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse to bring civil lawsuits against their attackers until the victim turns 55 years old.

Previously, victims only had up to the age of 23.

That part of the Child Victims Act had almost universal support.

What has contributed to the financial woes of the church and other organizations with a history of sex abuse claims against them is the “look back” period the act included. Victims who suffered abuse at any time in the past who either never filed a civil claim or who did, but had that claim thrown out because the statute of limitations had expired for it, were given one year to bring a new civil action.

Originally, the year was to run from August 2019 to August 2020. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit and hit hard in New York. Residents were under strict limitations, the state was all but shut down for months, and victims’ advocates worried about how the look back waiver would be affected.

In May, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered a five-month extension to the deadline. Then state lawmakers made it a full year. Now those who want to file a civil lawsuit for sexual abuse they claim happened to them as children have until  August 14, 2021 to do so.

Church, Diocese of Rockville Centre’s Reaction

The Associated Press reported that in excess of  200 lawsuits have been filed against the Diocese of Rockville Centre since the Child Victims Act was passed. According to Rockville Center’s bankruptcy filing, the diocese estimates it is facing as much as $500 million in liabilities from the lawsuits.

Diocesan lawyers have challenged the law in court, arguing it is unconstitutional, but to no avail. In May, state Supreme Court Judge Steven M. Jaeger denied the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s appeal and cleared the way for the lawsuits against it, and any other organization in similar circumstances, to proceed.

Now, diocese officials say they plan to ask the bankruptcy court to put all the cases against it “on hold so that they can be settled together,” the Associated Press reported.

“The financial burden of the litigation has been severe and only compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bishop Barres said in the video message. “Our goal is to make sure that all clergy sexual abuse survivors and not just a few who were first to file lawsuits are afforded just and equitable compensation.”

Victims’ Advocate Reacts to Diocese of Rockville Centre’s Decision

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a nationwide organization that advocates for abuse victims and provides resources to them, put out a statement criticizing the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s decision to seek the protection of bankruptcy.

“This is a move designed less to protect assets and more to protect secrets and prevent the public from getting the full truth about the scope of clergy abuse within its borders,” the SNAP statement said. “In short, by declaring bankruptcy, church officials in Rockville Centre can refuse to take responsibility for abuse and cover-ups that occurred within under their watch.”

Rockville Centre Not the Only One

In May the Archdiocese of New Orleans also filed for bankruptcy protection. According to the Associated Press, nearly two dozen Catholic dioceses in the U.S. have done the same in the last 20 years.

The dioceses in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo have also recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Newsday reported. The Diocese of Camden in New Jersey, facing similar challenges, filed Oct. 1.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.