OAKLAND, Calif. — The Diocese of Oakland filed a formal Chapter 11 reorganization plan Nov. 8 in an effort to settle some 345 claims of sexual abuse. If approved by the court, the move — which follows the decision by the diocese in May 2023 to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — would create a survivors’ trust totaling between “approximately $160 million and $198 million or more,” the diocese said in a Nov. 8 media release. In October, Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland had provided an update on the proceedings, noting in an Oct. 7 message that California’s 2019 lookback law, which opened a three-year window in the statute of limitations, had left the diocese unable to settle the claims while continuing its operations. As separate legal entities, diocesan Catholic schools and affiliated ministries are not part of the filing. However, the diocese’s 80 parishes, integrated within the diocesan corporate structure, are — although their “services, regular programs, and charitable activities will continue uninterrupted,” said the diocese. (OSV News)
