Archdiocese Of Baltimore Has Filed For Bankruptcy

A Maryland law, signed in April, will take effect this Sunday, October 1, 2023.  It will remove statute of limitations deadlines for the filing of child sexual assault lawsuits against institutions.  At that time, the Maryland Attorney General's office had released a report detailing the abuse of 600 children by 150 clergy.  That report was revised this past month and can be found here.  Only a handful of names are redacted from this one.

In a move most likely calculated to shield church assets from lawsuits anticipated as a result of both the law and the report, today the Archdiocese of Baltimore has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Among other things, that means that any settlement of suits will be handled in bankruptcy courts, not civil courts.   They tend to be less transparent.