Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., Aug. 21 – The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, according to a Monday press release.

The archbishop said the filing is necessary to manage and resolve the more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse brought against it under California Assembly Bill 218, which allowed decades-old claims to be filed by Dec. 31, 2022, that otherwise were time barred.

In 2003, California created a similar window, and since then the archbishop has paid more than $70 million to survivors in legal settlements by using insurance funds and selling excess property.

The Chapter 11 filing will halt all legal actions against the archbishop while it develops a plan of reorganization that is based on assets and insurance coverage available to be used to settle claims with abuse survivors.

The 88 parishes within the archbishop are independently managed and self-financed and, along with their parochial schools, are not included in the filing.

The Real Property Support Corp., Capital Asset Support Corp., high schools, Catholic cemeteries, St. Patrick's Seminary & University, and Catholic Charities associated with archbishop also are not included in the filing and will continue to operate as usual.

Employees will be paid as usual, and their benefit programs will continue uninterrupted, the archbishop said, adding that vendors will be paid for all goods and services delivered after the filing.

“RCASF will continue to serve the 442,000 Catholics in the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin, and its priests and deacons will continue to carry out their missions and ministries within the archbishop of San Francisco,” the debtor said in the release.

The archbishop said most of the more than 500 claims stem from allegations of sexual abuse that occurred 30 or more years ago involving priests who are no longer active in ministry or are deceased.

The debtor reported 1,000 to 5,000 creditors, $100 million to $500 million in assets and $100 million to $500 million in liabilities.

Felderstein Fitzgerald Willoughby Pascuzzi & Rios LLP and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP are representing the archbishop. B. Riley Advisory Services is financial adviser.

The San Francisco-based archbishop filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy under case number 23-30564.

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