Catholic Church Abuse Claims: Diocesan Bankruptcy and Trusts

Many claims over child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the United States are now resolved inside federal bankruptcy courts rather than by juries. Dioceses and archdioceses have filed for Chapter 11 after states opened or revived windows for time-barred lawsuits; the court sets a claim deadline, a committee represents survivors, and a confirmed plan usually channels claims into a trust. Outcomes differ: Camden, New Jersey has a confirmed plan and funded trust plus a further settlement announced in 2026, Rockville Centre, New York added 136 parishes as debtors, and Oakland, California has had its plan rejected as presented. Each case is separate, and filing is not a finding of liability.

What the claims are and who they concern

The debtor is normally the diocesan corporation, for example “the Roman Catholic Bishop of San Diego,” not the Catholic Church as a whole. Claims are brought under state law, usually alleging negligence or vicarious liability for clergy and church employees, and often concern decades-old harm. Parishes and schools are usually outside the initial filing but may file later or contribute to a settlement in exchange for a release.

Why a diocese files for Chapter 11

State law drives the timing. California’s AB 218 and New York’s Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act created periods for otherwise time-barred claims, and Maryland’s Child Victims Act of 2023 removed the civil limitation period going forward. Diocesan announcements describe the same arithmetic: probable claim costs exceed available assets.

Chapter 11 is a reorganization, not a shutdown. As the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts explains, the debtor usually remains in possession and keeps operating, while a plan classifies claims and states how each class is treated; impaired classes vote by ballot.

How an abuse claim moves through the case

The court sets a bar date, and missing it generally means losing the right to share in distributions. Deadlines are published by the diocese and by a court-appointed claims agent. In Rockville Centre, the sexual abuse claim deadline was August 14, 2021, with a supplemental date of October 10, 2022 for Adult Survivors Act claims and January 13, 2025 for the additional debtor parishes. In San Diego, claims are filed through the claims agent named on the bankruptcy court’s case page.

Most cases have an official committee of tort claimant creditors, often called the survivors’ committee, which negotiates with the diocese and reviews the plan. A plan cannot be confirmed unless it classifies and treats claims, and impaired classes vote under 11 U.S.C. sections 1123 and 1126. Diocesan plans typically create a trust holding settlement funds and the diocese’s insurance rights and channel abuse claims to it. Nothing is paid until the confirmation order is final.

What is established vs. what is alleged

Established by court records and official releases:

• The filings and courts. Rockville Centre filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on October 1, 2020, case No. 20-12345. San Diego filed in the Southern District of California on June 17, 2024, case No. 24-02202-CL11; Camden’s plan was confirmed on March 14, 2024 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerrold N. Poslusny, Jr.
• The approved trusts. Camden’s confirmed plan established an $87.5 million trust funded by the diocese and related entities; in February 2026 the Bishop of Camden, Joseph A. Williams, announced a further $180 million trust, subject to court approval.
• Claim volumes where published. Sacramento cited more than 250 lawsuits alleging abuse of minors reaching back to the 1950s; Oakland’s bishop, Michael C. Barber, S.J., wrote that the diocese faced more than 330 claims.

Alleged, or contested between the parties:

• That dioceses understate the value of their assets. In Oakland the survivors’ committee told claimants the diocese had undervalued its assets and was shielding them; the diocese called the assertion “categorically untrue.”
• What a fair number is. Oakland’s bishop described an offer to 345 survivors of $165 million, about $463,000 per claimant on the diocese’s arithmetic, while survivor representatives have argued in several cases that bankruptcy reduces what survivors would recover. Neither characterisation is a court finding about any claim’s value.

Where the diocesan cases stand procedurally

• Camden, New Jersey. Plan confirmed March 14, 2024; a further settlement was announced in February 2026 and needs court approval.
• Oakland, California. Filed May 8, 2023; disclosure statement approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William J. Lafferty on April 4, 2025; the court declined to confirm the Modified Fourth Amended Plan as presented.
• San Diego, California. Filed June 17, 2024, case No. 24-02202-CL11; claims filed through the court-named claims agent.
• Rockville Centre, New York. Filed October 1, 2020, case No. 20-12345; additional debtor parishes filed December 3, 2024.
• Sacramento, California. Filed April 1, 2024; no confirmed plan on the material reviewed.

Key dates

• October 1, 2020: Camden and Rockville Centre each file Chapter 11 (diocesan releases).
• May 8, 2023: Diocese of Oakland files Chapter 11 (diocesan release).
• March 14, 2024: Camden plan confirmed, establishing an $87.5 million trust (diocesan release).
• April 1, 2024: Diocese of Sacramento files Chapter 11 (diocesan release).
• June 17, 2024: Diocese of San Diego files Chapter 11, case No. 24-02202-CL11 (court case page).
• December 3, 2024: 136 Rockville Centre parishes file as additional debtors (claims agent).
• February 2026: Camden announces a proposed $180 million trust, pending court approval (bishop’s statement).

State attorney-general investigations

State attorneys general have also published reports naming accused clergy. Maryland’s Attorney General released a report on the Archdiocese of Baltimore in April 2023, identifying 156 individuals it determined to be the subject of credible allegations, while stating that its accusations are not findings of guilt. Illinois’ Attorney General, Kwame Raoul, concluded an investigation into all six Illinois dioceses on May 23, 2023, naming 451 clerics and religious brothers said to have abused at least 1,997 children, against the 103 substantiated abusers the dioceses had publicly listed. Pennsylvania’s Attorney General published a statewide grand jury report on six dioceses in 2018.

Those investigations are covered in more detail in the summaries of the Maryland child abuse litigation and the Illinois sexual abuse litigation. See also the Mass Tort section, how mass tort litigation works and MDL versus class action.

What this does not establish

• A filing, a bar date or the existence of a committee is not a finding that any claim is valid, and no plan pays anything until it is confirmed and final.
• Amounts in diocesan letters or settlement announcements are proposals, not court-approved distributions, unless a confirmation order says otherwise. The Camden $87.5 million trust is confirmed; the $180 million trust is not.
• Attorneys general reports are reports: the Maryland report states its accusations are not findings of guilt, and dioceses have disputed parts of such reports.
• Nothing here describes the merits of any claim or should be read as the value of a claim or an expectation of recovery.

Frequently asked questions

Does a diocesan bankruptcy mean the diocese closes?

No. Chapter 11 is a reorganization: the debtor usually remains in possession and continues operating, and diocesan announcements say parishes and schools continue as normal.

Do survivors have to file a claim to be paid?

Generally yes. Claims are paid out of the estate or a trust only if a proof of claim is filed by the court-set bar date, unless a claim is otherwise scheduled or allowed. Each case publishes its own deadlines.

Is a diocesan trust the same as a class action settlement?

No. These are Chapter 11 reorganizations of a specific debtor, not class actions, and there is no single national case.

Where can the current status of a case be checked?

The bankruptcy court’s own case pages and the court-appointed claims agent’s site publish docket entries, notices and deadlines.

How people are named here. Court records in this proceeding identify complainants by pseudonym or initials, and this article follows the court's own designations rather than attempting to identify anyone. People accused of wrongdoing are named where an indictment, court filing, regulator's report or an institution's published disclosure list names them. The rule is set out in full in our editorial policy.

Sources

1. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts: “Chapter 11 - Bankruptcy Basics” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
2. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California: “The Roman Catholic Bishop of San Diego (Diocese of San Diego) Case #24-2202” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
3. Epiq Corporate Restructuring, LLC (claims agent): “The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, Case # 20-12345, case overview” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
4. Diocese of Camden, New Jersey: “Diocese of Camden Chapter 11 Plan Confirmed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
5. Diocese of Camden, New Jersey: “Statement from Bishop Joseph Williams on Settlement with Sexual Abuse Survivors” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
6. Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland: “Chapter 11 (Diocese of Oakland reorganization releases)” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
7. Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento: “Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Media Release” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
8. Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General: “40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury Report” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
9. Illinois Office of the Attorney General: “Attorney General Raoul Releases Report Concluding Multi-Year Investigation into Child Sex Abuse by Members of Catholic Clergy in Illinois” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
10. Maryland Office of the Attorney General: “Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore (revised redacted interim release)” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)

CollectiveClaim.us publishes general legal information. This article is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Court records and agency actions change; verify current status with the court or agency before relying on it.