Diocese of Oakland considers bankruptcy filing amid crush of sex assault lawsuits
Leaders of the Diocese of Oakland are giving “strong consideration” to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid a new crush of lawsuits against the church alleging sexual abuse by its priests.
In an announcement Thursday, Bishop Michael C. Barber said church leaders were mulling over the bankruptcy filing after being informed that the diocese likely faces about 330 new sexual abuse-related lawsuits filed from 2020 through 2022. The landslide of litigation comes after a recent California law gave victims of sexual abuse a new three-year window to file claims that — until recently — had expired, due to the statute of limitations.
The likely number of lawsuits against the diocese — and the breadth of the church’s potential legal exposure — only recently started coming into focus with the end of that special filing period on Dec. 31, Barber said. Church leaders said that figure could still climb even higher.
“After much prayer and thoughtful advice, I believe bankruptcy can provide a way to support all survivors in their journey toward healing in an equitable and comprehensive way,” wrote Barber, in his letter released Thursday afternoon to the diocese, which has parishes in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties. “It will also allow the diocese to reorganize our financial affairs so we may continue to fulfill the sacred mission entrusted to us by Christ and the Church.”
The move follows in the footsteps of a similar announcement by the Diocese of Santa Rosa. In early December, that diocese said it planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after more than 130 new lawsuits were filed against the church alleging sexual abuse by its priests dating back to 1962.
Such decisions have precedent in California. Over the last 10 to 15 years, dioceses in Stockton and San Diego also have sought bankruptcy protection after agreeing to millions of dollars in settlements for priest misconduct. In all, the Catholic Church in the U.S. has paid more than $2 billion to settle sex assault claims across the nation.
Wednesday’s decision by the Diocese of Oakland drew immediate condemnation from a Bay Area representative for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who pilloried the plan as a way for the church to give smaller payouts to people who had faced years of abuse.
“It’s a tactic to dissuade, stall or beat down victims and other dioceses have tried that,” said Joey Piscitelli, a Contra Costa resident and the survivors network’s Northern California leader. “If they were truly sorry for what they did, they wouldn’t pull tactics like this.”
“They would be more honest and forthcoming and they would actually take care of the victims who led a life of pain after being molested,” he added.
The bankruptcy announcements come as Catholic dioceses across the state face a wave of new litigation as a result of AB 218, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2019 as a means to ease the process for filing lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct. Specifically, it opened a three-year window from 2020 to 2022 for people whose claims were previously barred due to the statute of limitations to file new lawsuits.
One cohort of more than 1,550 lawsuits in Northern California deals exclusively with allegations of abuse by Catholic institutions, said Rick Simons, a Castro Valley attorney who is helping to oversee those. One such case against the Diocese of Oakland was expected to go to trial as early as May.
The law also has led at least 14 clergy in Northern California — 10 in the Bay Area — to be linked for the first time to the church abuse scandal. They included two now-deceased South Bay priests, Rev. Elwood Geary and Rev. Robert Gemmet, whose names had not previously been associated with the scandal.
In his letter, Barber said that church leaders were still processing the lawsuits, adding that “it is increasingly evident we face a monumental challenge.” He called Wednesday’s announcement an “important moment in our journey toward rebuilding Christ’s Church.”
Advocates for people who were sexually abused by Catholic priests, however, pushed back — lampooning the decision as one focused more on the diocese’s finances, rather than the needs of abuse victims. Simons called the diocese’s actions “reprehensible,” adding that the diocese “will do anything to get out of facing a jury in these kinds of cases.”
“So why are they doing it? They’re trying to stave off the liability and save as much money as they can because money is much more important to them than the survivors are,” Simons said.