Jeanie Hannaman

By Daniel Payne, Catholic News Agency - The Diocese of Oakland, California, has announced that it will pay up to $200 million to settle hundreds of abuse claims filed against it... The diocese said in a Friday update on its website that it had filed a proposal in bankruptcy court that would create a survivors’ trust “to provide compensation of between approximately $160 million and $198 million or more for approximately 345 claims.”... Just over $100 million will be provided by the diocese directly, the announcement said, while up to $81 million would come from property in the diocesan real estate portfolio.

By Kevin Schmiesing, Catholic World Report - Given the history, the norms of canon law, and the character of civil law, the Church in the United States is caught on the horns of a dilemma... In what is now a decades-long trend, reports of American Catholic dioceses declaring bankruptcy continue to filter into the news... To a large extent, this financial retreat is fallout from the ongoing clergy sexual abuse scandal and the legal liabilities it has carried. But it is also the latest chapter in a long history of struggle, as the Catholic Church has sought to secure and defend its property rights within the context of American civil law.