BALTIMORE (MD)
WBAL-TV, NBC-11 [Baltimore MD]
August 5, 2025
By Kate Amara
Survivors’ counsel says third set of victims’ statements is necessary to keep survivors engaged, the church argues it’s improper
A federal judge in Baltimore on Monday heard a pending request for clergy sex abuse survivors to address the court.
Their counsel said it’s necessary to keep survivors engaged, while the other side argued it’s improper.
“When we were children, we were abused and silenced,” said David Lorenz, the director of the Maryland Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “Justice is being able to say, out loud, your story, what you were told you were not allowed to say.”
The Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy almost two years ago. The debtor is the church, and the creditors include almost 1,000 clergy sex abuse survivors, who pushed Monday for a third opportunity to address the court.
A lawyer for the creditors, Andrew Glasnovitch, declined to comment outside the court, but inside Courtroom 9-C, he argued at length on behalf of his clients, urging a bankruptcy judge to approve “a third opportunity for survivors to address the court.”
“Our intention is to engage survivors and to lift the veil of secrecy and gaslighting that has been over survivors for decades,” Glasnovitch said in court.
The church’s insurance company is opposed. An attorney called a third set of victim statements improper, unheard of and designed to sway the court. But, the attorney said, if it does happen, it should go before a different judge so as not to sway the court and that the archbishop doesn’t need to attend.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore participated in the two previous proceedings in which the court heard victims’ statements and previously said it would do so once more, as long as participants filed claims in the case.
The presiding judge on Monday said she’s concerned about causing further delays and highlighted a new letter from a survivor who feels disconnected from the case and frustrated by a lack of information.
“I think we are going to get more letters like this,” the judge said.
There was no immediate ruling from the bench as the judge said she has “a lot to chew on.” She hinted she will likely have a decision docketed by the end of this week.
