BALTIMORE (MD)
WBAL-TV, NBC-11 [Baltimore MD]
April 16, 2026
By Kate Amara
Archbishop William Lori avoids having to testify at Archdiocese of Baltimore bankruptcy hearing
Clergy sex abuse survivors anticipated hearing testimony from Baltimore’s archbishop, but heard instead from other church officials at the latest hearing for the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case.
A federal judge heard arguments Thursday on a motion filed by survivors and other creditors seeking a court-ordered freeze on the sale of parish and school properties during bankruptcy proceedings.
Attorneys for the survivors said transactions continue in violation of Chapter 11 rules, saying the archdiocese is offloading assets and hiding it from creditors.
The debtor, the archdiocese, said parishes and schools are a separate entity, and so the sales have nothing to do with the bankruptcy case. The archdiocese said some sales require approval from the Vatican, and all of them require a series of religious paperwork, including special decrees saying the property’s no longer “sacred.”
The creditors said only civil law counts in bankruptcy court.
During cross-examination, Auxiliary Bishop Adam Parker said more than $15 million will go to the archdiocese’s bank account from sales of those properties. Before the church’s legal team could object, Parker told the court, “Yes, the ‘debtor’ is listed on those deeds.”
“They keep claiming the parishes are separate and apart from the archdiocese, even though Lori is the president of the parishes, and 5% of the sale of parish property gets kicked back into the archdiocese,” said Teresa Lancaster, an abuse survivor.
Survivors had arrived at court expecting to hear testimony from Archbishop William Lori. They were disappointed to learn the judge allowed Parker — Lori’s No. 2 — to take the stand instead. Lori had been subpoenaed to appear Thursday in federal bankruptcy court, but he objected and filed a challenge.
“I would like to address the elephant who’s not in the room, and that’s Archbishop Lori,” said Frank Schindler, an abuse survivor. “Apparently, Archbishop Lori doesn’t think it’s important to be here to talk about what they are going to do for survivors.”
“Right now, I feel like we’re waiting for a miracle, a miracle that might not happen for a long time,” Lancaster said.
There was also much discussion about a $100 million settlement agreement from The Hartford — the largest insurer in the case. Survivors and other creditors called it “a first of its kind in cases like these,” saying history shows that when the biggest one settles, the others soon follow.
In a sign of progress, the court was told that both sides of the case have submitted their plans, and the judge set a preliminary hearing for next week.
“This has really impacted so many people over so many decades now, so we’re looking for healing for us as the Catholic family throughout the archdiocese, as well as for victims, survivors,” Parker said.
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 exploded in Boston after it was revealed that dozens of priests molested and raped children for decades while church supervisors covered it up and shuffled abusive priests from parish to parish, our sister station, WCVB, reported.
That same year, the Archdiocese of Baltimore apologized 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 police investigation into the disappearance and killing 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 a cap 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