Archdiocese of Baltimore decides not to use charitable immunity in bankruptcy case

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has decided not to use charitable immunity in its bankruptcy case, as the church prepares for a potential trial in the ongoing sex abuse case.

The legal protection could have shielded the church from having to pay the survivors. The case now hinges on mediation, which has not yet been successful.

In October, the archdiocese offered to give each survivor about $33,000, along with insurance dollars, which was an amount that survivors found insulting and rejected. 

Each survivor is seeking roughly $1 million.

Archdiocese bankruptcy

The Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy days before Maryland's Child Victims Act went into effect in 2023. The act eliminated the statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases and opened a flood of lawsuits with more than 900 claims against the church. 

Survivors have sought to dismiss the bankruptcy and are fighting the Archdiocese's claim of charitable immunity—that donations to a charity should not be used to pay civil claims. 

"By filing Chapter 11, the Archdiocese is seeking to provide the most orderly process in which victim survivors can be compensated, including from its insurance policies, while maintaining the mission and ministry of the church," the Archdiocese of Baltimore previously told WJZ.

The church has more than $100 million in assets and has proposed a $33 million fund to compensate victims, court filings show. A settlement offer of about $35,000 for each victim was rejected.

"I'm very anxious and hopeful there will be a settlement in the near future," Baltimore Archbishop William Lori said. 

Stories of abuse

Survivors described in court last month the agony and anger caused by the abuse in the Catholic church.

They addressed the court as part of the archdiocese's bankruptcy proceedings.

"To shield a man who molested children is the greatest insult to our faith and to survivors," a survivor told the judge. 

The stories were the same, as survivors felt lost, confused, and without faith. They said the impacts have lasted for years and decades.

"I screamed, and he threatened me for my silence," he said. "I wasn't strong enough to fight back," another survivor said.

Another survivor told a judge he feels "worthless." He said he night terrors and has dealt with excessive drinking because of the pain.

"I have no soul," he said.