Diocese of Syracuse to exit bankruptcy, will pay millions to abuse victims

A plan has been approved for the Diocese of Syracuse to exit bankruptcy that will involve millions of dollars in payouts to abuse victims.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after New York state’s 2019 Child Victims Act temporarily extended the statute of limitations for sexual abuse, leading to many claims to be filed against the diocese. Six of New York’s eight Catholic dioceses filed for bankruptcy following the Act, according to Catholic News Agency.

Douglas Lucia, the bishop of Syracuse, released a letter to the faithful in which he expressed his continued sorrow for the abuse and explained the terms of the bankruptcy exit.

“For over five years, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has been pursuing means of making reparation for the pain and mistreatment experienced by the survivors of child and adult sexual abuse at the hands of adults, clerical and lay, who were entrusted with their care,” the bishop wrote, as republished by CNYCentral. “As I have stated over the course of the five years and repeat again today, I cannot apologize enough for the abuse which happened or for any neglect in dealing with it.”

The approved plan involves establishing a $176 million trust fund to give compensation in response to the claims of abuse. The funds will come from several sources: $50 million is coming from the diocese itself, parishes in the diocese will give $45 million, and $5 million will be sourced from “other Catholic entities associated with the Diocese of Syracuse.” The largest share, $76 million, will come from insurance companies.  

The diocese will also be required to strengthen its protocols to ensure a safe environment.

After explaining the exit plan, the bishop reflected briefly on a reading from chapter 23 of Matthew’s Gospel.

“Jesus warns the religious establishment and leaders of his day against being ‘whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth — filled with hypocrisy and evildoing,’” he wrote. “We emerge to better live our Catholic Christian faith and heed to the call to leave sin behind and to heed the Universal Call to Holiness that is the heart of the Christian life.”

In the past half-century, seminaries and dioceses across the country have made major changes to priestly formation and safety protocols. According to a report by a research team at John Jay College, most alleged instances of abuse at Catholic parishes in the US occurred in the 1970s or earlier.

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