SYRACUSE (NY)
Post-Standard - Syracuse.com [Syracuse NY]
April 28, 2025
By Jon Moss
A new chapter could soon begin for the Catholic church in Central New York.
A confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Monday on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse’s proposed plan to exit bankruptcy. It is expected to last for about a week.
The diocese originally filed for bankruptcy nearly five years ago in June 2020 as it faced a growing number of sex abuse lawsuits. About 400 sex abuse claims have been filed.
The centerpiece of the 94-page bankruptcy exit plan, formally known as a plan of reorganization, is the creation of a $100 million fund to pay abuse survivors if they end their lawsuits against the church. Diocese officials are expected to describe how the money will be paid for.
Objections have been filed to the plan, including by a government-appointed trustee and several insurance companies.
Wendy Kinsella, the chief U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of New York, will have the final say on whether to approve or reject the plan.
It has become common around the country for Catholic dioceses to declare bankruptcy as a way to get more control over a mountain of abuse claims. Thousands of priests nationwide have been credibly accused of abuse, a scandal that has rocked the church for decades.
Headquartered in Syracuse, the diocese has nearly 200,000 members across 116 parishes in seven counties, 10 missions and seven oratories. It employs about 3,000 people.
Other dioceses have downsized their operations when emerging from bankruptcy, while also dealing with a decline in church attendance.
Leaders in the bankrupt Albany diocese said they may close a third of its buildings.
Abuse survivors voted overwhelmingly in favor of the diocese’s proposed plan to exit bankruptcy, according to court documents. They need to sign off on the plan since they are among the diocese’s creditors.
The plan has gone through several revisions since its key provisions were agreed upon two years ago. A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year forced additional revisions and an additional vote by creditors.
Abuse survivors are not expected to speak during the confirmation hearing.
A special hearing was held last week so survivors could recount what happened to them. A packed courtroom, which included Bishop Douglas Lucia, listened for six hours to the stomach-turning descriptions of abuse and the scars left behind.
A key part of the confirmation hearing will be an accounting of the $100 million fund.
Lucia previously said the diocese would cover half of the $100 million fund, with the rest paid by parishes, schools, missions and Catholic Charities. If split evenly among the parishes, each would face an average bill of nearly $400,000.
The $100 million is what local Catholic institutions have agreed to pay on their own to survivors. Any money from insurance companies would be on top of that money.
Five insurance companies that had objected to the plan settled with the diocese in the days before the confirmation hearing was to begin, according to court documents. They agreed to contribute about $60 million to the trust fund for abuse survivors.
A government-appointed trustee previously raised concerns that the diocese doesn’t appear to have enough money to pay its share of the fund.
The math “just doesn’t add up,” Erin Champion, an assistant U.S. trustee, said in court last year. “Where’s that money coming from?”
Stephen Donato, the diocese’s lead bankruptcy lawyer, previously said the diocese is “comfortable” it can cover its part of the fund for survivors. A financial official is expected to testify about that during the confirmation hearing, he said.
Donato said the diocese has investment funds from which it could potentially pull money. If the diocese is short, the proposed plan also allows for the church to pay up to $15 million over three years.
Some abuse survivors complained during the hearing last week about how long the bankruptcy process has taken. They derided the diocese’s insurance companies for taking actions they say are delaying financial restitution.
“Can we just end this, finally?” one man asked aloud.
Staff writer Jon Moss covers breaking news, crime and public safety. He can be reached at jmoss@syracuse.com or @mossjon7.