Editorial: N.J. diocese bankruptcy filing creates uncertainty

MULLICA HILL (NJ)
South Jersey Times via NJ.com

October 6, 2020

Amid the world-shaking news of recent days, the announcement that the Catholic Diocese of Camden has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection created fewer ripples than it might have at some other time.

This may well have played into the diocese’s desire for the faithful and the community to regard the event as a “nothing to see here; business as usual” one. After all, Americans have been busy sorting sort out another set of circumstances concerning the health of its president, where the smiley faces posted in official updates turned out not to be what they first seemed.

The diocese may not be hiding anything, but its statement works hard to emphasize that the reorganization would have no effect on: the 62 individual parishes in seven South Jersey counties; any diocese-associated Catholic schools in the region; any direct employees of the diocese, their salaries and their pensions; or the donations to, or work done by, the House of Charity-Bishop’s Annual Appeal, Catholic Strong or Catholic Charities.

As for what victims of what Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan refers to as “long-ago claims of (clergy) abuse,” that might be another matter. The bishop’s statement says the diocese had to pay $8 million in settlements just this year through the New Jersey Independent Victims Compensation Program, and that it had to borrow the money. There’s none left: “The Diocese does not have the resources to equitably and proportionally address further claims at this time.” Some 50 lawsuits are still awaiting resolution, the bishop states.

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