SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Diocese of Sacramento announced Saturday that it will file Chapter 11 bankruptcy next year following hundreds of sexual abuse allegations and lawsuits.
"It is now clear to me that this is the only way available to me to resolve these claims as fairly as possible,” said Bishop Jaime Soto in a statement. "There are many victim-survivors awaiting compensation for the reprehensible sins committed against them."
In 2015, Dorothy Small says she was abused by a priest within the Diocese and it's taken years for her to overcome the trauma. She settled her case in 2019 through mediation but is concerned about this bankruptcy announcement, claiming it will seal documents containing survivor stories from the public.
"That does not benefit society, but it does benefit the church," she said. "The survivors also do not have the benefit of a court date," she continued.
The Diocese says filing for Chapter 11 is a public process and all filings and funds will be available for everyone to see. As a volunteer for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Small believes it's important for all the information be made public for survivors who have come forward, and for those who haven't.
"Information can be accessible to people who are researching, because you don't know what's what's contained in there, those priests still in active ministry," Small said.
There are more than 250 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clergy or other church staff, according to officials. The church says 80% of the lawsuits are alleging abuse from before the 1980s and six alleged abuse after 2002 when "improved safeguards" were created.
The church says they expect they will have to sell assets as part of the process.
Soto says they will file by March of 2024 and filing for bankruptcy will allow him to "equitably respond" to the alleged victims.
"I remain steadfast in my belief that I must continue to atone for the horrible sin of clergy sexual abuse. The sickening evil that was perpetrated upon innocent children — and the failure of Church leadership to address it appropriately — has caused unfathomable pain that endures," said Soto. "It is these sins that brought us to this place. Pray for the healing of victim-survivors. The pain inflicted on them lasts a lifetime, and so our atonement must be a lifetime commitment."
He says parishes and schools will continue their operations uninterrupted and only the administrative office of the bishop will be seeking bankruptcy protection.
