Amid lawsuits, Diocese of Rochester files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy

ROCHESTER (NY)
WHAM

September 12, 2019

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester filed for bankruptcy Thursday morning, less than one month after dozens of lawsuits were filed against clergy.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Rochester.

At least 47 sex abuse lawsuits have been filed under the Child Victims Act in Monroe County as of Thursday. Of those 47, 45 lawsuits name the Diocese of Rochester as a defendant. The Child Victims Act allows a one-year window, beginning on August 14, for child sex abuse victims to file suit without a statue of limitations.

The filing lists the Diocese as a tax-exempt entity and estimates it has fewer than 1,000 creditors. Estimates in the filing also state somewhere between $50 and 100 million in assets, with somewhere between $100 and 500 million in liabilities. Among those liabilities are “various sex abuse claimants”. The bankruptcy filing includes a list of 264 creditors.

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