NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WDSU [New Orleans]
November 11, 2025
By Erin Lowrey, Aubry Killion
Parishes and other charities linked to the Archdiocese of New Orleans will file for bankruptcy this week.
This comes as the Archdiocese is poised to settle its years-long bankruptcy case involving clergy sex abuse.
An estimated 150 parishes and charities will file bankruptcy this week.
The additional bankruptcies will shield future liabilities for past acts of abuse. Once the diocese’s bankruptcy ends, the additional entities’ bankruptcies will also end.
For a list of parishes and charities impacted, click here.
This does not mean that schools are closing or will see major impacts.
Tuition is not going up, according to the Archdiocese.
Some parishes could see money come out of rainy-day funds or investments; however, sources tell WDSU that the school’s operating budgets should not be impacted.
When it comes to churches, the impact is not expected to be major.
While no mergers are planned for parishes as a result of the bankruptcy, the archdiocese has said that pastoral planning to ensure parish vitality is an ongoing process, according to the archdiocese.
It’s technically possible they could face merges in the future, but at this time, no consolidation or school closures are expected.
As far as charities impacts go, an anonymous donor has stepped in for Second Harvest.
Regarding the sale of Christopher Homes, the following statement was provided:
“As a mission-driven firm focused on creating and preserving high-quality affordable housing, our singular focus is on continuing the Catholic Church’s legacy of enabling seniors to age in place with dignity, respect and a sense of community. By extending Christopher Homes’ affordability for decades to come and investing in its infrastructure and services, we will keep residents healthy, comfortable and secure in their homes for the long term.”
The bankruptcies come as the archdiocese prepares to list and use its assets in the $230 million settlement plan with sex abuse survivors.
The plan recently received enough votes to move forward, and after a trial in the upcoming weeks, if all stays on schedule, survivors could receive payments by next year.
Payouts will be specific to sex abuse claims and based on a point system.
The accepted plan would pay settlements to an estimated 600 claimants in the case.
The plan settlement proposes the following compensation for sex abuse survivors:
- $130 million in committed cash funding to be paid by the archdiocese and its affiliates into a settlement trust on the effective date of the plan
- A $70 million for sale of Christopher Homes. Christopher Homes offers affordable housing and will stay as affordable housing.
- Tredway, has reached an agreement to purchase Christopher Homes and maintain the 15 apartment complexes as affordable housing for about 1,700 low-income seniors.
- Approximately $30 million from insurance companies, which have reached settlements to date
- Substantial additional recoveries from abuse litigation against Travelers Insurance Co., which insured the archdiocese during the time period in which many of the abuse claims occurred
- Importantly, unprecedented child protection measures and transparency into the history of abuse in the archdiocese
According to a news release issued by attorneys for the Survivors Committee, the plan also requires the archdiocese and its archbishop to implement new binding child protection protocols.
Those protocols include:
- Overhauls the handling of reports of sexual abuse to notify law enforcement, standards for investigation of claims, documentation of all communications and regular information to the survivor, and removal of the accused perpetrator from ministry
- Provides for outside oversight to ensure compliance with the protocols, including a survivor seat on the Internal Review Board that reviews claims of clergy abuse and an outside child abuse prevention expert to review and monitor all child protection policies and practices
- Adopts a Survivors Bill of Rights that requires that survivors be treated with dignity and respect, provides resources for counseling and other services, and provides survivors with a direct line of communication to the archbishop to complain about mistreatment
- Creates a public archive of thousands of pages of documents related to abuse claims that, up until now, have been kept secret
Sex abuse survivors’ claims will be reviewed before payments are decided.
If the archdiocese had not filed for bankruptcy, potential survivor recoveries are estimated at $1.9 billion.
Once the settlement is over, records associated with abuse claims will be released and housed at LSU in Baton Rouge.
According to the latest court filing, the following schedule has been proposed for the remainder of the settlement hearings.
Proposed Schedule:
Monday, November 17
- Additional Debtors’ First-Day Motions
- Deemer 9019 Motion
- Remaining Pretrial Motions (if any)
- Insurance Settlement Motion
Tuesday, November 18
- Insurance Settlement Motion (cont. if needed)
- Testimony of Very Rev. Patrick R. Carr, CPA
- Testimony of Lloyd E. Eagan, Jr.
Thursday, November 20
- Testimony of Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond, D.D.
- Testimony of Katheryn R. McNally, on behalf of Stout Risius Ross, LLC (fka The Claro Group, LLC)
Friday, November 21
- Testimony of Patricia Moody
- Testimony of Kristi S. Schubert or Frank E. Lamothe, III
- Testimony of Most Rev. James F. Checchio, J.C.D.
- Testimony of S. Parkerson McEnery, on behalf of TMC Realty, LLC d/b/a The McEnery Company
Monday, November 24
- Testimony of Christopher G. Linscott, CPA, CFE, CIRA, on behalf of Keegan Linscott & Associates, PC
Tuesday, November 25
- Testimony of Christopher G. Linscott, CPA, CFE, CIRA, on behalf of Keegan Linscott & Associates, PC (cont. if needed)
- Testimony of Kevin Dobrava, on behalf of Argent
- Testimony of Marc Scarcella, on behalf of Roux Inc.14
- Testimony of Michele Michaelis, on behalf of BDO Consulting Group,LLC
Monday, December 1
- Testimony of Marc Scarcella, on behalf of Roux Inc. (cont. if needed)
- Testimony of Michele Michaelis, on behalf of BDO Consulting Group, LLC (cont. if needed)
- Testimony of Dirk Wild
- Testimony of Meredith L. Hathorn
Tuesday, December 2
- Additional witness testimony as needed
- Abuse Survivor Statements – To be made in narrative form without direct or cross-examination
The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued the following statement:
“We are continuing to work through the court processes. If the settlement and reorganization plan are confirmed, we anticipate the settlement trust will need to be funded by December 31 of this year.
“Neither the contributions to the settlement trust nor the prepackaged bankruptcies will have a significant impact on the operations of the parishes and agencies.
“We are not able to disclose the specific contributions by parish or agency, but through the efforts of pastors and others, funds have been identified and allocated from the Catholic family of parishes and agencies that enable the additional debtors to make their contributions with minimal impact to their ministry and operations. We want to assure Catholic school parents that no tuition money is being used to fund the settlement.
“The prepackaged bankruptcies provide legal protection for the parishes and agencies against past acts of abuse. The liability created through opening the Statute of Limitations could be catastrophic to a parish, and the prepackaged bankruptcy ensures the good work and ministry of the parishes and agencies continues now and into the future. The additional debtors as they are now know will be in bankruptcy for a very short period of time and it will have no impact on their day to day operations. There will be no staffing changes, all bills and vendors will be paid, and all operations will continue as normal from the time of filing later this week through plan confirmation.”