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Syracuse Catholic Diocese’s Move Shifts Sex Abuse Claims against Priests to Bankruptcy Court

By Marnie Eisenstadt
The Post-Standard
June 19, 2020

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2020/06/syracuse-catholic-dioceses-move-shifts-sex-abuse-claims-against-priests-to-bankruptcy-court.html

Syracuse.jpg Syracuse Bishop Douglas Lucia explains the decision behind the Catholic Diocese filing for bankruptcy during a press conference Friday, June 19, 2020, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.comLauren Long | llong@syracuse.com

Syracuse, N.Y. — More than 100 alleged victims of priest sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse will no longer get their day in state court.

Instead, their cases will end up as part of the diocese’s bankruptcy case. The diocese filed for bankruptcy Friday after 38 more victims, including a grandmother, came forward with allegations of priest sex abuse under the Child Victims Act this week.

In bankruptcy court, those victims become “creditors” who have to prove they are owed something by the diocese.

Bishop Douglas Lucia said Friday he decided to file for bankruptcy to ensure that all of the victims could get something for the pain while also making sure that the diocese would not be destroyed by the onslaught of claims.

“I feel it is the only way we can address the victims’ claims in a fair and equitable manner,” Lucia said.

Without the bankruptcy, he said, payouts to victims, and the diocese’s future, would be a “crapshoot,” he said. The victims’ cases heard first would stand to get most of the compensation. Bankruptcy, he said, ensures that everyone who is deserving gets something. And it ensures that the diocese will be able to continue functioning.

But Jeff Anderson, whose firm represents 50 plaintiffs suing the Syracuse Diocese, said this is a way to escape discovery and hide the systemic abuse and cover-ups.

“It gives them the opportunity to stop us and the survivors from excavating their secrets, their history, their practices...” he said in an interview with syracuse.com.

The bankruptcy filing also means the deadlines of the Child Victims Act no longer apply. Instead, the bankruptcy judge overseeing the diocese’s case will set a deadline for victims to make their claims, said Charles Sullivan, the diocese’s attorney.

It’s likely that will be before the state deadline, which has been extended to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“There will be a robust notice process,” said Sullivan said.

At least one attorney representing Syracuse victims, Mitchell Garabedian, said his clients plan to continue their suits in state court against the individual churches where the abuse is alleged to have taken place. Garabedian said the clients will continue to pursue “justice and validation.”

The decision to file for bankruptcy is something Lucia has been considering for months, he said. He had hoped to avoid it, and was even considering another round of payouts to victims as the diocese had done last year, paying out $11 million to 79 survivors. The church then also named 57 priests who had credible claims of child sex abuse against them.

But as the number of cases filed against the diocese continued to mount, Lucia said, it seemed impossible for the church to fairly compensate the victims.

The bankruptcy filings show that the diocese has assets of between $10 million and $50 million and expected liabilities of more than $100 million. The majority of those liabilities are the expected settlements in priest abuse cases, according to the filing.

Lucia said the more than 220,000 Catholics in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse are unlikely to notice the impact of the diocese’s bankruptcy in the pews or at their schools.

The 158 employees of the diocese will still be paid, said Stephen Breen, chief financial officer of the diocese. The mission and staff of Catholic Charities of Onondaga County, also, will be unaffected by the filing.

Lucia said the coronavirus pandemic also caused financial hardship that was part of the decision to file for bankruptcy. The diocese did receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $1.2 million, which will not be affected by the bankruptcy filing.

The Syracuse Diocese joins Rochester and Buffalo, who have also filed for bankruptcy.

Lucia said the diocese will continue to be transparent about the bankruptcy proceedings, posting the documents and updates on the diocese’s website.

He also apologized for the decades of abuse.

“As your bishop, I must again apologize. I cannot apologize enough for the heinous acts that were perpetrated against the young of our diocese,” Lucia said. “I ask you all to join me in our diocesan commitment that these acts will never take place again.”

Marnie Eisenstadt is a reporter who writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246

 

 

 

 

 




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