EL PASO (TX)
Austin American-Statesman [Austin, TX]
March 6, 2026
By Paul Flahive
The move is due to pending court cases that could cost the church millions of dollars.
The Catholic Diocese of El Paso has filed bankruptcy to shield itself from massive potential liabilities in cases stemming from priest abuse of children stretching back to the 1950s.
In a filing Friday, the diocese sought chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying it had between $10 and $50 million in assets and owes as many as 200 creditors as much as $10 million. The move to declare bankruptcy while assets outweigh liabilities is due to pending court cases that may cost the church millions more to settle.
“The Diocese of El Paso financial resources are limited,” the Rev Mark Seitz, bishop of the diocese, said in a statement. “Chapter 11 will allow it to compensate abuse survivors through a single court-supervised process.”
The El Paso diocese was one of several church regions hit with lawsuits in New Mexico state courts last year alleging sexual abuse of children from 3 to 15 going back to the 1950s and up to 1982. The abuse took place in parishes throughout southern New Mexico that once belonged to the diocese, according to church officials.
Documents filed with the Western District of Texas reflect nearly 20 John and Jane Doe victims in the pending cases, along with their legal representatives.
Seitz described ongoing and fruitful meetings with victims’ attorneys since the lawsuits were filed last year.
Levi Monagle, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the decision to declare bankruptcy was not surprising. He noted about 40 other dioceses followed the same strategy when a critical mass of lawsuits were filed against clergy.
“They’re trying to limit the recovery of survivors and get to a damage matrix rather than allow a jury to award the damages,”
Monagle said.
Juries are an existential threat to the church in these cases, he said, as they are more likely to assess an award based on damages to a person who was abused as a child while a bankruptcy court is more interested in assessing an award based on available funds.
“As your bishop, I apologize to abuse survivors for the harm pain, and suffering they experienced and continue to experience,” he said, adding the diocese is committed to a transparent process.
The amounts owed the victims are marked “unknown” in the bankruptcy filing as it is unclear if they will win court rulings and how much could be awarded.
As part of the anticipated reorganization plan, which must be approved by a judge, the diocese will propose a 120-day period for any outstanding claims to be made regarding abuse by clergy, employees or volunteers. The diocese said thatwill encourage claimants who have not yet identified themselves to come forward so they can share in any payout made available through the reorganization process.
The lawsuit includes only the Diocese of El Paso, not associated foundations or schools.
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe paid out $121 million at the end of 2022 through a bankruptcy. Monagle and his associates represented 100 of the 400 claimaints in that case.
“I look at the archdiocese of Santa Fe and what they were able to do … I see that as a benchmark,” he said, adding it wasn’t just because of the monetary compensation for clients. It also created an archive of abuse documents at the University of New Mexico.
He called the archived documents “a roadmap of how systemic abuse was able to occur and metastacize.”
Paul Flahive is a business reporter for the Austin American-Statesman.