Boston, Mass., May 15, 2023 / 15:05 pm
The Diocese of Oakland, California, has filed for bankruptcy protection, Bishop Michael Barber announced May 8.
The filing comes less than a month following Barber’s announcement that the diocese was strongly considering the legal maneuver due to hundreds of expected child sexual abuse lawsuits brought after the statute of limitations expired at the end of a three-year legal window.
In 2019, the state of California passed legislation that granted a three-year exemption to the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse lawsuits. The legal window began Jan. 1, 2020, and ended Jan. 2, 2023.
In a letter to the people of his diocese, Barber said there are more than 330 child sexual abuse claims, with the majority alleging assaults occurring between 1960 and 1989.