Fresno Diocese bankruptcy not expected to effect local churches

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following a "substantial" number of sexual abuse claims brought against clergy, Rev. Joseph Brennan, bishop of the diocese, wrote in an open letter dated May 28.

In recent years, hundreds of sexual abuse claims at the hands of Valley priests have come to light. There are currently 154 cases filed against the Fresno diocese. In order to resolve these claims, it is possible the diocese could be "rendered insolvent,” according to the diocese website.

Brennan stated that filing bankruptcy will “allow us to address those claims honestly, compassionately, and equitably."

The petition is expected to be filed in August, Brennan said.

The Catholic church has stated that bankruptcy filing will not result in any changes for local churches, according to a spokesman for the diocese.

“As far as the faithful in the area of your readership, liturgy, masses, sacraments will continue as they have always continued,” said Chandler Marquez, director of communications for the diocese. “Mass time won’t reduce. We know the services we offer through our sacraments won’t reduce. Religious education will remain the same, and the services that we offer to the disenfranchised in the community via Catholic Charities and via the Bethlehem Center in Visalia – none of those services will go away. As far as the faithful sitting in the pews, they won’t see much of a difference in their experience with their faith and with the Diocese of Fresno in the Tulare County area.”

Dealing with consequences

Melanie Sakoda, the support director for SNAP, the Support Network of those Abused by Priests, agrees with Marquez – but for different reasons – that the Diocese of Fresno is unlikely to become insolvent.

“I don't know that anyone is privy to the exact financial status of the diocese but some of that will come out in the bankruptcy," she said. "I suspect that they have been anticipating this bankruptcy since the last window closed ... and have been transferring assets out of the diocese into parishes, schools, or other Catholic entities that are associated with the diocese.”

SNAP is an organization that has been highly critical of how the Catholic Church has dealt with cases of sexual abuse of minors by priests. It describes itself as “an independent, peer network of survivors of institutional sexual abuse and their supporters.”

In a response issued by SNAP on the same day as Brennan’s letter, Sakoda wrote, “Bankruptcy is not the only way to achieve fair recoveries in all of the lawsuits against the diocese. In (previous cases), universal agreements were reached between the church and survivors and their attorneys, without the draconian consequences that bankruptcy will bring along with it.”

The victim support organization highlighted another roadblock that victims may face when the Catholic church files for bankruptcy.

The California Child Victims Act established a “revival window” for sexual abuse survivors to file previously time-barred claims. Between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2022, anyone could bring a new claim of childhood sexual assault, regardless of age or time of discovery.

Although a victim can still file a civil case for childhood sexual assault, California courts require the case to meet at least one of three rules, which includes the revival window.

SNAP is concerned that bankruptcy would bar late responders from receiving damages.

“This would include those who do not yet remember their abuse, those who do not yet understand the impact it has had on their life, those who are not yet ready to speak out, and – most disturbingly – those children who are too young to understand that they need to file a claim before the bar date,” SNAP officials stated.

Changes in the Catholic Church

The Catholic church as a whole throughout the United States has implemented changes through the Safe Environment Program, Marquez said.

"The charter to protect the youth is what they created and every diocese is mandated to follow that" Marquez said. "They are standards that are upheld throughout the nation with every diocese, so a safe environment is a very, very important piece of our church."

The mandated training for volunteers or employees of the Catholic church teaches people how to identify an unsafe environment, and how to handle the situation in regard to reporting, according to the Catholic diocese.

“The Catholic church has made great progress in protecting the young and vulnerable and creating a safe environment for all, but it is still on its journey of dealing with the issue and atoning for the sin of clergy sexual abuse,” Brennan wrote in the May letter. “Our pledge to protect our youth is an ongoing effort that will continue to be a top priority for me and our diocese. Victims of abuse endure a lifetime of pain, and we as Catholics must commit to a lifetime of atonement.”

Although Sakoda acknowledged that there have been some positive changes to create a safer environment in the Catholic church, she said more change is needed.

“There has been limited improvement in the sense that the Diocese of Fresno ultimately produced a list of abusers, and also the training that's being given to staffers and to the children who are attending parish schools,” she said. “I think that is helpful, but what I don't think has changed is the bishops’, and not necessarily this bishop, but all Catholic bishops’ attitudes toward abusers. If you have a victim and he's the only person that’s coming forward, they are not going to remove him from ministry, particularly in this day and age when a lot of parishes don't have enough priests."

The Catholic Church isn't the only high-profile institution to be roiled by sex use scandals.  Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Boy Scouts of America have also faced major sex scandals revolving around coverups of sexual abuse of children and young people.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Fresno Diocese bankruptcy effect on Tulare County churches