San Francisco Archbishop Goes Bankrupt to Settle Sex Abuse Suits

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to settle more than 500 child sex abuse lawsuits, becoming the latest religious organization driven to bankruptcy by a wave of sex abuse ligation.

The archdiocese listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million each in a Chapter 11 petition filed in San Francisco bankruptcy court. Filing bankruptcy halts pending and future lawsuits, giving the archdiocese time to formulate a potential settlement with survivors who will have the right to vote to accept or reject any potential resolutions.

The San Francisco archdiocese follows ...