Image via Jacob Aere / KPBS
Due to “staggering” legal costs resulting from hundreds of sexual abuse claims involving former members of the clergy, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego disclosed last week that it may need to file for bankruptcy in the near future.
Bishop Robert McElroy attempted to prove that none of the lawsuits involve current priests in a letter that was obtained by The Associated Press and was anticipated to be distributed to parishioners this past weekend. “This reflects the reality that the Church has taken enormous steps to root out the sexual abuse of minors in its life and to promote the protection of minors,” McElroy wrote.
McElroy asserted that the cases resulted not only from a recently implemented California law that extended the deadline for filing claims of childhood sexual abuse to 40 years of age, but also from a three-year period beginning in 2020 during which the statute of limitations was removed.
During a news conference on Friday, the diocese’s communications director, Kevin Eckery, said that the majority of the current lawsuits stretch back as far as 1945 and were filed 50 to 70 years ago. Eckery estimates that the diocese could settle these most recent cases for around $550 million.
The majority of the diocese’s funds were depleted, according to McElroy, who added that “even with insurance, the diocese will not be able to pay out similar sums now” during a meeting with 200 diocese representatives on Thursday night. In 2007, the diocese reached settlements with 144 victims totaling $198 million.