BALTIMORE (MD)
WBAL-TV, NBC-11 [Baltimore MD]
March 2, 2026
By Kate Amara
Clergy sex abuse survivors allege court maneuvering delays Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case
Lawyers for Catholic parishes are lobbying in federal court to come up with a process to weed out invalid claims as the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case continues.
Creditors in the case, including some clergy sex abuse survivors, question the timing of bringing up invalid claims now; their attorney called it pointless since the 462 known, viable claims are worth in excess of $600 million — more than any amount the church is able to pay.
“It’s just delay, delay, delay; more of the same,” said Teresa Lancaster, an abuse survivor, advocate and attorney for the creditors.
“They’re willing for this to go on and on and on,” said Frank Schindler, an abuse survivor and advocate.
Among legal maneuvers dominating the discussion, Baltimore’s Catholic parishes are now seeking to be seen as separate from Baltimore’s Catholic Church in order to keep proceeds from parish real estate transactions out of the pot of assets the court will pull from to pay creditors.
“These parishes have benefited from a mere 900 days of bankruptcy protection with their stay, and yet they have not filed bankruptcy, and recently, now you have the parishes coming forward and objecting to some of the survivors’ claims? So, they have a say in this? But yet they’re supposed to be separate? It doesn’t make any sense,” Lancaster said.
There’s also a “claim objection” filing for which lawyers for the church told the judge there are so many bogus claims in the case that the court has to devise a plan to figure out what’s valid and what’s not, who does the reviews and who gets a vote.
Creditors called it another delay tactic.
“What this continues to say to me is that the archdiocese has no intention, if they can possibly help it, no intention of coming to any kind of resolution with survivors,” Schindler said.
See original article for the Video: Archdiocese won’t assert charitable immunity, it says
The survivors said they’re in the fight no matter how long it takes.
“We are not going anywhere,” Lancaster said.
“Absolutely, 100% we are here and we’re not going anywhere,” Schindler said.
An attorney for the church told the judge, “Someone who filed a claim against an Anglican priest should not be voting in this case. Someone who filed a claim against a Boy Scout troop leader should not be voting in this case. And, there are hundreds of those, not five or six of those.”
As was heard in court on Monday, the Archdiocese of Baltimore told WBAL-TV 11 News that it’s committed to the process and a plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
RECENT TIMELINE
Maryland Attorney General’s Church Child Sex Abuse Investigation
In the 1990s, the Archdiocese of Baltimore received complaints of sexual abuse involving some of its priests dating back decades. According to the archdiocese, it established policies and an independent review board in 1993 and began reporting allegations of abuse as a result of guidance mandated by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.
In 1994, the archdiocese removed Joseph Maskell from ministry amid credible allegations of child sexual abuse. Maskell’s name is seen nearly 200 times throughout a more than 450-page AG report that would be published in 2023. He was one of the primary subjects of the Netflix docuseries “The Keepers,” about a Baltimore Archbishop Seton Keough High School teacher found dead in 1970.
In 2002, the clergy sex abuse scandal explodedin Boston after it was revealed that dozens ofpriests molested and raped children fordecades while church supervisors covered itup and shuffled abusive priests from parish toparish, our sister station, WCVB, reported.
That same year, the Archdiocese of Baltimoreapologized for abuse committed by ministers of the church and voluntarily published a detailed list naming credibly accused clergy. In the years that followed, the archdiocese reports it implemented mandatory screening and training policies for employees and volunteers, began offering mediated financial settlements to victim-survivors and required annual child protection refresher training for all employees/clergy.
In 2018, a sweeping Pennsylvania grand jury report accused senior church officials of systematically covering up complaints involving more than 1,000 children who were molested by roughly 300 Roman Catholic priests since the 1940s.
More victims in Baltimore came forward thereafter, and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation that ultimately revealed decades of child sexual abuse and leadership’s efforts to cover it up.
This a brief timeline of the events that followed.
June 1, 2017
The Netflix documentary series “The Keepers” reveals a long-standing and baffling cold case, focusing on a Baltimore County policeinvestigation into the disappearance andkilling of Sister Cathy Cesnik. – Story
June 2, 2017
“The Keepers” focuses on a killing and years of molestation at a Baltimore high school, and it has helped to bring more victims to light. – Story
June 6, 2017
The story of young women who say they were abused at Archbishop Keough High School in the late 1960s through the early 1970s is highlighted in “The Keepers.” – Watch: Victim speaks out to 11 News
Aug. 16, 2018
Baltimore sexual abuse victims hope release of grand jury report in Pennsylvania will lead to action in Maryland. – Story
Sept. 25, 2018
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh launches a review of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. – Story
Nov. 9, 2018
11 News I-Team Exclusive: Baltimore Archbishop William Lori addresses church sex abuse scandal: “We have to be held to the same high standard we hold our priests and lay employees and volunteers to. We should have the same standards and the same consequence.” – Watch
April 24, 2019
The archdiocese adds 23 names of deceased priests and brothers previously and credibly accused of child sexual abuse to its online list. – Story
June 12, 2019
Following the Archdiocese of Baltimore enacting a third-party reporting practice in January 2019 — the first diocese in the nation to do so — the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in Harbor East and authorized a national anonymous third-party system for confidential reporting of abuse allegations. The bishops approved a self-imposed deadline for implementation of May 31, 2020, and Baltimore fully adopted the national version in 2020. – Story
“A reporting system that goes to two lay members of our review board, two judges and to law enforcement, and what we see now is these sorts of things, God willing, on a national level,” Lori said.
Victim-survivors said the hope the reporting system will lead to change. – Story
Nov. 17, 2022
Frosh files a motion to release his office’s investigative report of child sexual abuse in the archdiocese. – Story
Nov. 18, 2022
Court issues ruling, redacted report can be released after redacted copy is prepared. – Story
Feb. 24, 2023
Victim-survivors call on the report to be released and the investigation expanded. – Story
March 15, 2023
Court receives redacted report for review. – Story
April 4, 2023
Judge authorizes report’s release. – Story
April 5, 2023
Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office releases the report, revealing decades of child sexual abuse and the archdiocese leadership’s efforts to cover it up. The report lists 156 current or former Catholic clergy, seminarians, deacons, teachers at Catholic schools, others as having abused hundreds of children.
– Read the Report | Victims | List of Abusers | Exclusive: Lori responds | Signs to watch for
The same day of the report’s release, the Maryland House bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases, the Child Victims Act of 2023, was approved and sent to the governor. – Previous report on the bill
April 14, 2023
A reignited controversy over revealing names brews over the attorney general’s report. The archdiocese posts a new FAQ page on its website about the attorney general’s report. The Attorney General’s Office releases a series of statements, saying most of what the archdiocese said is untrue, misleading and unfair to survivors. – Story
May 9, 2023
Attorneys Ben Crump and Adam Slater put the archdiocese on notice for lawsuits months before a new state law eliminates the statute of limitations for sexual abuse lawsuits. – Story
June 30, 2023
The archdiocese’s list of priests and brothers accused of child sexual abuse, which has different criteria than that used in the attorney general’s report, grows by 39 names. – Story
Aug. 22, 2023
A Baltimore court rules that more redacted names can be revealed from the attorney general’s report. The AG said the names of 10 alleged abusers and five ranking archdiocese officials were redacted. As a result of the court’s order, all but three of those individuals will now have their names revealed in the report. – Story
Sept. 26, 2023
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown releases a revised interim report on child sexual abuse in the archdiocese. The new report removed some of the redactions that the court had ordered in the report’s initial release in April. By order of the Baltimore City Circuit Court, some of the information remains redacted while certain individuals named in the report appeal a decision to disclose their identities. – Story
Sept. 29, 2023
The Archdiocese of Baltimore files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it faces a potential for child sexual abuse lawsuits. This comes days before a new Maryland law took effect that eliminates the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse to file lawsuits and raises acap on noneconomic damages to $1.5 million per incident. – Story
11 News Exclusive: “We realized if we tried to litigate (the lawsuits) individually, that we would very quickly run out of resources. The first few would be compensated, but no one else would be compensated,” Lori said.
Eric Steiner, a bankruptcy attorney who is not involved in the proceedings, explains to the 11 News I-Team that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in this case, is likely a strategic move by church officials.
“It is often used when the liabilities outweigh the assets, which seems to be the case,” Steiner said. “So, it can be an efficient way to resolve claims, and obviously, the archdiocese is going to want to pay as little as possible versus the creditors that want more. So, really, the court’s job is to balance the interests of both sides.
Oct. 3, 2023
The Archdiocese of Baltimore appears in federal bankruptcy court and was granted a full 30 days for the church to add up its assets. The judge also agreed to seal the names of the more than 600 victim-survivors who are expected to file civil lawsuits, as well as the 197 names of archdiocesan employees. – Story
May 22, 2024
The Archdiocese of Baltimore released its final realignment plan to close and/or merge dozens of parishes across the city and immediate suburbs. – Story
Oct. 4, 2024
Appealing church closures: There’s action underway by Catholic parishes to try to remain open amid the archdiocesan restructuring plan. – Story | List: Final church closures
Nov. 24, 2024
Some churches hold Sunday Mass for the last time at their home churches. – Story
Dec. 15, 2025
The archdiocese agrees not to assert charitable immunity in its bankruptcy case. – Story