Writer: Leo Ruffolo
Editor: Marc Buensalida
11/07/2023
The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the oldest archdiocese in the United States, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 29, 2023. For context, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the “Child Victims Act” into effect, which “abolished the statute of limitations to sue alleged sexual abusers in Maryland and allowed them to file suit for up to $1.5 million” (NPR). The Maryland Attorney General’s office has identified 600 alleged victims of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and lawyers representing the victims say that there are likely over a thousand. The report details “pervasive and persistent” (NYT) abuse in the Catholic Church.
I do not dispute the fact that victims of abuse deserve just compensation no matter when they were a victim of abuse, but is the Child Victims Act the most efficient way to get victims their money? I do not believe it is. The main problem with the law is that it does not account for the influx of people who will be filing claims at the same time. If lawyers are correct in their estimates that there are over a thousand alleged victims, the Archdiocese would be unable to pay all of them at once. Especially considering the potential maximum payout of $1.5 million per victim, the Archdiocese could be asked to pay upwards of one billion dollars over a small period of time. The Archdiocese could potentially only pay a quarter of a billion dollars, as that is the worth of all the Archdiocese’s owned assets. This is why the Archdiocese had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy does not just negatively impact the Archdiocese, it also affects the alleged victims through a longer process of litigation. Victims will be forced to file claims by a certain date, meaning certain victims may not be compensated simply because they did not file at a specific time. There are two possible solutions to this. The first is lowering the maximum amount of compensation that a single victim can receive. While I do not believe this is the best option, if the maximum is low enough, the Archdiocese could likely make all the estimated payments in a short period of time. The second solution, and one that I believe makes the most sense, is to process and pay the oldest, most vulnerable victims first and set up a timeline for the younger and healthier victims to get a later filing date. This is the best solution because it gets rid of the large influx of claims being made at once, as well as the Chapter 11 bankruptcy delay that comes with it. This means that older victims will be able to get quicker compensation without necessarily sacrificing the amount they get and decreases the likelihood of those near the end of their lives passing away while Chapter 11 bankruptcy delays payments.
Overall, a law that may have seemed like an instant relief for victims has turned into a long, drawn-out process that may not encapsulate all of those who were abused. This is a great example of why lawmakers must think of every possible outcome of a law and how other existing laws can help or hinder the goal of a law.
References
Maucione, S. (2023, October 8). The archdiocese of baltimore declares bankruptcy just as
new child sex abuse law passes. https://www.npr.org/2023/10/08/1204545824/the-archdiocese-of-baltimore-declares-bankruptcy-just-as-new-child-sex-abuse-law
Graham, R. (2023, September 29). Baltimore Archdiocese, bracing for more abuse claims,
files for bankruptcy. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/us/baltimore-archdiocese-sex-abuse-bankruptcy.html
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