Abuse in the Catholic Church: US diocese files for bankruptcy

The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg in the US state Pennsylvania has suffered from high compensation payments due to abuse cases Filed for bankruptcy. Despite numerous austerity measures, the diocese “is currently unable to meet our financial obligations,” Bishop Ronald Gainer said on Wednesday. With the application for creditor protection according to Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law, the diocese, which looks after around 230,000 believers, could reposition itself.

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Although over 100 victims of abuse have already been compensated, there are already “half a dozen new lawsuits, each of which could seriously paralyze the diocese financially,” said the bishop. The diocese in the state in the northeastern United States had paid a total of $ 12.1 million to 106 people abused by priests last year.

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And Harrisburg is just one diocese of many in Pennsylvania where cases of abuse have been exposed. The alleged victims: at least a thousand children – mostly boys, but also many girls. The alleged perpetrators: more than 300 Catholic priests.

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A grand jury had tracked the scandal for two years. She spoke to dozens of alleged victims and sifted through half a million files. Similar allegations have already been made elsewhere, she sums up, referring to earlier disclosures, starting in Boston over 16 years ago. “But never on this scale.” When the Grand Jury’s investigation report was released, State Secretary of Justice Josh Shapiro said with shock: “The abuse was rampant and widespread. It is horrific.”

Bankruptcy also with the scouts

It was only earlier this week that the US boy scouts faced a variety of sexual abuse lawsuits also filed for bankruptcy, The aim is to compensate all victims of abuse and to continue the association’s mission in the future, announced the “Boy Scouts of America” ​​(BSA) on Tuesday.

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More than 12,000 members of the U.S. Boy Scouts have been victims of sexual assault since 1944, according to victim lawyer Jeff Anderson. According to his information, more than 7,800 suspected perpetrators are listed in files available to the organization.

According to media reports, the Scout Association is facing massive compensation claims. According to CNN the organization already lists liabilities in excess of $ 100 million (equivalent to a good 92 million euros).

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