Archdiocese May File for Chapter 11

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection rather than face a costly legal battle that could drag on for years, according to a published report.

A spokeswoman for the archdiocese called the report “speculative and premature.”

Senior advisors to Cardinal Bernard Law favor filing for bankruptcy protection, and any decision must be approved by the cardinal, according to the Boston Sunday Globe, citing an unnamed senior church official and two unnamed sources close to the archdiocese.

An archdiocesan spokeswoman said Sunday that a decision on bankruptcy had not been made but that every option is being considered.

“Any reports in the media with regards to this are speculative and premature,” Donna Morrissey said.

“Our first desire is to settle in a fair and expeditious manner.”

If the archdiocese does file for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, action in all civil lawsuits against the archdiocese would be suspended and it would be protected from new suits, according to the story.

Filing for bankruptcy protection would mean that the archdiocese is admitting that it is liable, but Law would no longer have to answer questions in pretrial depositions and archdiocesan attorneys would not have to release any more priests’ personnel files to plaintiffs’ lawyers.

This week, lawyers for alleged abuse victims will start to make public the personnel files of 65 priests.

Robert A. Sherman, an attorney at Greenberg Traurig, which represents about half of the alleged victims, told the newspaper that it is too early for the church to consider bankruptcy protection before it even knows the amount of damages it faces. It also contradicts Law’s previous promises, he said.