Diocese mulls bankruptcy after sexual abuse settlements

CALIFORNIA
Manteca Bulletin

By ROSE ALBANO RISSO
The Bulletin

News about the most recent sex-abuse settlement involving the Catholic Diocese of Stockton raised widespread speculation on whether the church will seek bankruptcy protection.

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire addressed these speculations in his open letter to all the faithful in the diocese which was read during all the Masses over the weekend.

“At this point, no decision has been made about how we will go forward and how we will meet our obligations,” he stated in his pastoral letter.

The bishop added that “it is too early to tell” exactly what type of protection the diocese will seek in court. However, he emphasized that any decision made will “not impact the solvency or operations of the parishes.”

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