Survivors of child sex abuse accuse Baltimore Archdiocese of avoiding compensation payments, claiming "charitable immunity"
A lawsuit filed on behalf of child sexual abuse survivors claims that the Archdiocese of Baltimore is trying to skirt its responsibility of compensating victims.
In 2023, the Maryland Attorney General found that over 600 children were abused by at least 165 priests, teachers and employees under the church's supervision.
After the state enacted the Child Victims Act, eliminating the statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse, the lawsuit says there were more than 1,000 claims filed that alleged the church was liable for sexual assault cases.
The Child Victims Act allows survivors to receive a payout of $890,000 for each claim of abuse. However, the lawsuit claims that the Archdiocese of Baltimore is using the doctrine of charitable immunity to prevent it from having to directly pay survivors.
The lawsuit asks a judge to rule on whether the Catholic Church can continue to use the measure despite the fact that the institution filed for bankruptcy.
What is the charitable immunity doctrine?
The charitable immunity doctrine is a rule created by a judge that protects certain organizations from civil lawsuits if the organization does not have liability insurance that covers the claim, according to the People's Law Library of Maryland.
Under the rule, a charitable organization is defined as one that is tax-exempt and operates for religious or educational purposes.
The rule was created with the idea that it is "unfair to make charitable organizations pay for civil damages…with funds received from donors."
Archdiocese of Baltimore files for bankruptcy
The Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy days before Maryland's Child Victims Act went into effect.
During court hearings, several survivors testified, emphasizing the importance of financial accountability.
"That's the only thing the church is going to understand," survivor Teresa Lancaster said. "Hit them where it hurts, in the pocketbook."
According to our partners at The Baltimore Banner, in filing for bankruptcy, Baltimore Archbishop William Lori expressed that the church would rather pay all of the survivors at once.
Lori wrote, "Chapter 11 reorganization is the best path forward to compensate equitably all victim-survivors, given the Archdiocese's limited financial resources, which would have otherwise been exhausted on litigation."
The recent lawsuit alleges that the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy because "it faced potentially catastrophic liabilities from hundreds of survivors' claims."
According to the lawsuit, paying the survivors is part of the archdiocese's organizational mission, and the charitable immunity doctrine should not be used as bankruptcy hearings continue.
"The [Archdiocese of Baltimore] accordingly should not be permitted to raise the defense of charitable immunity from tort liability for so long as the [Archdiocese of Baltimore's] bankruptcy case remains active," the lawsuit reads.
Archdiocese of Baltimore responds to lawsuit
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the church said, "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 statement continued, "The Archdiocese was surprised by the recent limited impasse declaration by the Committee regarding Maryland's Doctrine of Charitable Immunity in mediation discussions, especially given the Archdiocese's longtime practice of pastoral care and history of settlements with victim survivors, despite the existence of the doctrine of charitable immunity in Maryland. The Archdiocese remains committed to providing equitable compensation to victim survivors and ensuring the continued mission and ministry of parishes and schools to the communities they serve and will continue to proceed while honoring its dual goals."
