Bogged down by 153 claims of clergy sex abuse, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno announced Tuesday it voluntarily filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The financial reorganization process comes more than a year after the diocese declared its initial intent to seek relief in U.S. bankruptcy court.
Fresno church officials said the action will help them avoid insolvency, while victims of abuse and their attorneys excoriated the church for what they describe as delay tactics to help the diocese evade justice.
Church officials are scheduled at Eastern District Court in Fresno on Monday for their next hearing in front of Judge René Lastreto II.
“I am clear-sighted that this path is the only path that will allow us to handle claims of sexual abuse with fair, equitable compassion while simultaneously ensuring the continuation of ministry within our Diocese,” Bishop Joseph V. Brennan wrote in a letter to parishioners. “Our Church must address the suffering that victims of clergy sexual abuse endure.”
Although the church has not conceded responsibility on all 153 claims, Brennan said a fund will be established by the court for distribution to survivors.
Jeff Anderson, whose law firm has represented clergy abuse victims in 11 of California’s 12 dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said the proceedings help the diocese and bishop avoid accountability.
“By forcing survivors into bankruptcy court, they are once again denying responsibility,” Anderson wrote in a statement. “But we will stand with survivors and fight for the full measure of truth, justice, and healing they deserve.”
In May 2024, the church acknowledged more than 150 sexual abuse claims made against it since Assembly Bill 218 was enacted in January 2020.
AB 218 opened a three-year window for some civil sexual assault claims that previously timed out due to the statute of limitations.
The deadline to file a claim closed Dec. 31, 2022, under the legislation.
Attorney Jennifer Stein said all 50 of the firm’s clients filed lawsuits directly because of AB 218, with one filing in 2019 in anticipation of the Assembly bill’s passage.
She said most victims were children forever “scarred” by the trauma that stemmed from clergy abuse.
“That’s trauma that stays with you throughout your professional and academic career, in interpersonal relationships and marriages,” she said. “Each and every single survivor has a story to tell as a result of their abuse and that isn’t highlighted enough.”
Stein said that bankruptcy robs victims of the spotlight and converts court proceedings into a focus on property and corporate structure that could span several years.
“As compared to state court litigation, bankruptcy is about the church’s ability to pay,” she said.
Fresno’s diocese includes more than 1 million Catholics among 87 parishes and 21 schools from Fresno, Kern, Kings, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties.
The diocese released a list of 63 clergy and lay people accused in 2021, including ordained priests as early as 1906. Though most were local, some clergy hailed from Guatemala, France, Ireland, Mexico and the Philippines.
On Monday, attorney Rick Simons filed a motion in court calling for an investigation into Fresno’s bankruptcy announcement. He said he believes the more than year-long lag since May 2024 was fraudulently used to delay several dozen cases. Simons manages a legal proceeding called Northern California Clergy Cases, in which nearly 1,800 individual lawsuits have been filed against seven Catholic dioceses, including Fresno.
Simons told The Times the advantages for the church include survivors dying out, getting tired and quitting or greatly reducing their expectations.
He also noted that the church could have used this time to rearrange money and property to make sure certain funds or accounts are not part of the debtor’s estate. The declared intent for bankruptcy also “stops jury trials and discovery from going forward while cases are waiting for bankruptcy,” according to Simons.
The church declined to comment on the accusation.
Church officials have said that they do not expect an impact to diocese-run elementary and high schools along with catholic charities and other area affiliates.
Though diocese officials have said they also do not expect an impact at Catholic cemeteries, those properties have been listed in the Chapter 11 filing.
The diocese acknowledged that the value of Diocesan assets available to resolve claims, including any available insurance coverage, may not be sufficient to cover the claims and could leave the diocese insolvent.
The diocese also verified that it was not receiving any financial help from the Vatican.
