San Francisco archdiocese is latest Catholic Church organization to file for bankruptcy

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco is the latest Catholic organization to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it deals with 537 lawsuits from survivors of child sexual abuse.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said in a statement that the bankruptcy allows for the resolution of claims in a fair and equitable manner under court supervision. He added survivors could reach quicker resolutions and possibly receive peace and closure.

"Today, occurrences of abuse within the Catholic Church are very rare,” said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone in a statement. “Given the educational and preventative measures now in place, I believe the Church has set the standard for other organizations, showing what can and should be done to protect our children."

The bankruptcy would cover only the Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, not its independently managed parishes and schools. The organization serves 442,000 Catholics in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin in Northern California.

Dozens of Catholic churches have filed for bankruptcy

Marie Reilly, a law professor at Pennsylvania State University who has kept track of 34 Catholic churches that filed for bankruptcy since 2004, said it's not uncommon for a church to tell congregants it is filing for bankruptcy to insulate itself from future sex abuse lawsuits, she said. Bankruptcy forces the court to treat all claims the same and removes the possibility of jury trials as the trustee of the church will determine how much each claimant gets.

According to Reilly's tracker, 18 Catholic churches have reorganized their debts under Chapter 11 bankruptcy and another 12 are in proceedings. Three religious orders affiliated with the church have also filed for bankruptcy.

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @KrystalRNurse.