Here’s what you need to know about Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese bankruptcy

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, freezing more than 200 child sex abuse claims filed against it over the past three years and setting off what’s likely a yearslong process to settle the cases collectively while allowing the diocese to continue its ministries.

Q: Why is this happening?

A: The state legislature in 2019 adopted AB-218, which, in part, allowed some adult survivors of child sexual abuse to file personal injury lawsuits and opened a three-year “look-back” window during which the statute of limitations would be waived. That window closed Dec. 31, 2022.

At least 222 cases naming the Santa Rosa Diocese as a defendant or co-defendant have been counted so far among at least 1,566 Northern California cases being processed through a unified system in Alameda County Superior Court.

Q: What is the potential liability for the diocese?

The diocese already has paid out at least $35 million in past settlements — $19 million of it covered by insurance — and says it doesn’t have enough assets to cover what it anticipates would be needed to cover the current claims.

It also says some of the claims — about half of them stemming from allegations of 30 years ago — are from years for which there is no or limited insurance coverage or for which insurance has been exhausted.

In its bankruptcy petition, the diocese claims to have $10 million to $50 million in assets and estimates liabilities at $10 million to $50 million.

Q: Will the diocese have to close churches or schools?

A: Santa Rosa Bishop Robert Vasa said he does not anticipate closure of churches or schools, which he said are structurally and financially independent even when owned by parishes. Over the past six or seven years, the diocese has incorporated its 42 parishes and other entities as “corporations sole,” independent of the diocese, in keeping, Bishop Robert Vasa said, with a century-old edict from the Vatican.

He said all or most churches stand on property held in trust by the dioceses but are understood to belong to the parishes, which pay the taxes on them and cover expenses like roof repair and sidewalk maintenance.

Attorneys representing survivors plan to challenge the idea that parish assets are not also diocesan assets, given the bishop’s control over the entirety of the diocese. They said the parish incorporations were pursued as the legislature began considering a new look-back period precisely to shield assets from would-be plaintiffs.

Q: What’s next for plaintiff survivors?

A: A case involving the Santa Rosa Diocese was among the only six of at least 1,566 clergy abuse cases filed in the Northern California unified court scheduled for trial so far. It, along with at least 221 others in which the diocese is named as a defendant, are expected to be frozen. Instead of going to trial, they will be resolved through bankruptcy court, with a creditors’ committee formed from about a half-dozen plaintiffs and allowed to bring on staff establishing a settlement fund from the diocesan assets and apportioning them appropriately.

Plaintiffs attorneys hope to persuade the bankruptcy judge to allow cases to proceed against co-defendants of the diocese, including Hanna Boys Center, Camp St. Michael and various parishes.

Q: What about survivors who haven’t filed lawsuits yet?

The look-back window is closed so anyone age 40 and older who has not filed a suit for childhood sex abuse on longer can. Once the settlement fund is established, even those under 40 who already suffered abuse will be prevented from filing, as well.

The bankruptcy proceedings represent the last chance for those under 40 who have suffered abuse to file a proof of claim that, if substantiated, may entitle them to a share of the settlement. Once the settlement is finalized, only victims of new abuse may file a lawsuit.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan (she/her) at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.