CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2020 / 09:30 am
The Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, announced on Thursday that it is filing for bankruptcy, the second Catholic diocese to do so on that same day.
"I take some comfort that we are not alone in making this decision, as we have seen that well-known public entities and other Catholic dioceses across the country have been forced recently to do likewise," said Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden on Thursday afternoon.
The bishop said that a triple blow of new abuse lawsuits, a drop in donations due to the pandemic, and $8 million in payouts through the New Jersey Independent Victims Compensation Program were behind the bankruptcy declaration. Sullivan said the diocese had to borrow money to make the payouts through the program.
"If it were just the pandemic, or just the costs of the Victims Compensation Program, we could likely weather the financial impact; however, the combination of these factors has made that impracticable," Bishop Sullivan said.