The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, which filed for bankruptcy last year in the wake of hundreds of child abuse lawsuits, said Sunday it will establish a survivor fund to compensate the church’s victims.
“I apologize unreservedly for the terrible suffering endured by the survivors,” Bishop Michael Barber said in a news release. “I and everyone in the Diocese of Oakland remain committed to the healing of survivors and their families, and to ensuring that no clergy, religious, employee or volunteer who would abuse a child can serve in any ministry in our church .”
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2023 in light of 345 child abuse claims dating back decades, church officials said. Lawyers for the survivors say the number is closer to 370.
The diocese has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to avoid individual lawsuits and consolidate claims in a court-supervised process that will ultimately lead to settlements.
“After careful consideration of the various alternatives for providing just compensation to innocent people who have suffered harm, we believe this process is the best way to ensure a fair and just outcome for survivors,” Barber said. at the time of the bankruptcy announcement.
On Sunday, the diocese said it had filed a reorganization plan with bankruptcy court earlier this week.
“If the plan is confirmed by the bankruptcy court, it will create a Survivors’ Trust that will provide compensation of approximately $160 million to $198 million or more for approximately 345 claims,” the diocese said.
Lawyers for the victims sent a statement Friday denouncing the diocese’s plan.
“This is not a reorganization plan,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the victims. “This is the bishop’s game – it’s a fraud and a sham.”
Anderson said the bishop is trying to “force a plan on the survivors without their approval or consent” and that the church has grossly undervalued its assets.
The diocese said funds for the Reorganization Plan will come from the Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland in the amount of $103 million, a contribution from real estate that RCBO believes is worth between $43 million and $81 million or more, and a contribution of the Roman Catholic Welfare Corporation. /Schools worth $14.5 million, and possible cash contributions from other entities.
Plaintiffs will also be able to pursue insurance proceeds from RCBO’s insurers.
Anderson claims the church has a $3.4 billion real estate portfolio and that the scheme “smacks of fraud and deceit.”
“According to research and public records, we believe that the Diocese of Oakland’s bankruptcy filings undervalued its assets to deceive people, parishioners, the public and survivors,” Anderson said in a statement from his office.
A spokesperson for the diocese responded to the lawyers’ allegations on Sunday.
“We are committed to continuing the mediation process while seeking bankruptcy court approval of the proposed reorganization plan,” Helen Osman wrote in an email Sunday evening. “The plan is based on real figures and realistic estimates.”
Anderson’s office released a statement Friday from a survivor it is representing.
“I believe the diocese will pay the least amount possible,” said Cathy, a sexual abuse survivor in Oakland. ‘They are in this court looking for a discount on my pain. To our pain. The church protects its money and reputation better than its children. No amount of money will heal me and restore the child that was damaged in that one moment. ”
Barber said Sunday that the church wants to fulfill its obligations.
“While this is an extremely difficult challenge, we want to fulfill our obligation to the survivors,” Barber said. “We recognize that no amount of money can fully and satisfactorily compensate survivors in a fair and just manner and allow the Diocese of Oakland to forge a path forward to continue spreading the Gospel in service of the faithful and the poor. ”
The lawsuits came in the wake of California Assembly Bill 218, which went into effect in 2020 and opened a three-year window that allowed child sex abuse lawsuits to proceed despite statutes of limitations that had prevented older claims.
Church officials say most of the sexual abuse claims it faces involve accusations from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s from priests who are no longer active in ministry or who have died.
