NY diocese files for bankruptcy amid clergy abuse lawsuits

Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre (AP Photo/Frank Eltman, File)

I grew up in this Diocese. I hope all the victims find peace and the justice/compensation they deserve!!

Via AP:

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (AP) — A Roman Catholic diocese in New York City’s suburbs has become the largest in the U.S. to declare bankruptcy to protect itself from a wave of lawsuits filed over past sexual abuse by clergy members.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday. It is the eighth largest diocese or archdiocese in the U.S., serving more than 1.4 million Catholics on Long Island.

“The financial burden of the litigation has been severe and only compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bishop John Barres said in a video posted on the diocese’s website. “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.”

More than 200 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy members have been filed against the diocese since the 2019 passage of New York’s Child Victims Act, which suspended the statute of limitations to allow sex abuse victims to pursue decades-old allegations of abuse against clergy members, teachers and other adults.


 

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