Yet another U.S. Roman Catholic diocese has filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to protect Church assets while forcing victims of priestly sexual abuse to accept reduced compensation. As I have said before, other than a change in tone aimed largely at PR concerns, nothing has changed under Pope Francis. It is also telling that the Diocese of Stockton claims to have little in the way of assets. Here in Virginia, the diocese holds title to all of the parish churches, not the local congregations. One has to wonder if the same holds true in California. If it does, then creditors should seek to go after parish buildings as well. Here are some details from Manteca Bulletin:
Calling it “a painful but necessary decision,” Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of the Diocese of Stockton announced that attorneys for the diocese will be filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.
The decision comes after months of “careful consideration, consultation and prayer,” and looking for other solutions as a “way out” of the problem.
“Chapter 11 protection is the only way we can fulfill our responsibilities to the victims of sexual abuse and our responsibilities to the parishes and communities we serve,” the bishop stated in the announcement released to the media.
He made it clear that the bankruptcy reorganization filing concerns only “the corporation sole known legally as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Stockton.”
Not affected in the bankruptcy filing are the parishes in the diocese – such as St. Anthony of Padua in Manteca, St. Patrick’s Church in Ripon, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Lathrop – and diocesan schools including St. Anthony of Padua School in Manteca and the Catholic high schools in Modesto (Central Catholic) and Stockton (St. Mary’s High), as well as Catholic cemeteries such as St. John’s Cemetery in Ripon-Escalon, and the Madonna of Peace Retreat Center – because these are separate corporations.
However, in light of similar bankruptcy filings by other dioceses in the country where creditors have challenged the status of those filings, pastors in the Diocese of Stockton have been advised to secure “independent legal assistance” so that they will be prepared when faced with those legal challenges.
The diocese itself has sufficient funds to continue normal operations; however, it does not have reserve funds “to settle pending lawsuits of sexual abuse, or to handle any new claims that may be made,” the bishop’s announcement further stated.
The diocese, thus far, has paid more than $14 million in legal settlements and judgments in the past two decades to fulfill its financial obligations to the victims of clerical sexual abuse. With money from “insurers and other payors,” the total amount paid to date is $32 million.
As a final height of hypocrisy, Bishop Blaire said "all victims of sexual abuse must be in our prayers always” even as he instituted the bankruptcy filing that will screw them over. A tawdry whore has more integrity than Bishop Blaire. How do decent, moral people continue to be Catholics?
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