Diocese of Oakland says it will pay up to $200 million for hundreds of abuse claims

CNA Staff, Nov 11, 2024 / 14:35 pm

The Diocese of Oakland, California, has announced that it will pay up to $200 million to settle hundreds of abuse claims filed against it. 

The diocese said in a Friday update on its website that it had filed a proposal in bankruptcy court that would create a survivors’ trust “to provide compensation of between approximately $160 million and $198 million or more for approximately 345 claims.”

Just over $100 million will be provided by the diocese directly, the announcement said, while up to $81 million would come from property in the diocesan real estate portfolio.

An additional $14.25 million would be contributed by “Roman Catholic Welfare Corporation/Schools” (RCWC) along with “possible contributions of cash from other entities.”

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in May of last year after hundreds of child sexual abuse lawsuits were brought amid a three-year legal window implemented by the California state government. 

The rule, passed by the state Legislature in 2019, granted a three-year exemption to the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse lawsuits. 

Oakland Bishop Michael Barber said last year at the time of the filing that the diocese would be “challenged to put aside our personal preferences and work together for the good of the whole community and the future of our beloved Church.”

The bishop this week said the process was an “extremely difficult challenge” but that the diocese sought to “honor our obligation to survivors.”

“We recognize that no amount of money can fully and satisfactorily compensate survivors for the abuse they suffered,” he said. “Bearing that in mind, we believe the plan compensates survivors in a fair and equitable way and allows the Diocese of Oakland to set a path forward to continue to spread the Gospel, serving the faithful and the poor.”     

In official filings, the diocese said it would initially contribute $63 million in cash to the trust followed by $10 million per year for four years afterward. The RCWC would contribute additional amounts.

Some advocates criticized the proposal. Dan McNevin, a volunteer with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, told local ABC affiliate KGO-TV that the proposed settlement was “pretty pathetic” and “pretty low.”

“This is a really, really wealthy diocese, and there [are] a lot of victims,” he argued. “... They have 82 parishes. We think they have $3 to $4 billion in real estate.”

Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents abuse survivors in several states including California, argued that the plan was a “shell game” and a “scam and a sham.”

“The bishop’s reorganization plan is a familiar playbook designed to suppress survivors’ voices and avoid accountability,” Anderson claimed, alleging that the diocese was “trying to force a plan on survivors without their approval or consent.”

In its filing, meanwhile, the diocese said that “the abuse of children and vulnerable adults has no place in the Diocese of Oakland, specifically, or the Roman Catholic Church, generally.”

The diocese “will do everything in its power to prevent such abuse,” it said.