“My reason for communicating with you on these matters has everything to do with my view that as the Catholic faithful of Western New York, we are very much a family that must face its challenges together with candor and with as much transparency as we are able to provide,” Bishop Fisher stated to Catholics in the diocese.
Fisher added that the diocese is “fully focused on fulfilling what this process is all about,” meaning a “sense of restitution, closure and healing for all those who were abused by members of the clergy.”
The diocese declared bankruptcy in February 2020, already facing hundreds of Child Victims Act lawsuits at that time. Fisher said on Saturday that, following the total number of lawsuits filed in the last two years, the coming bankruptcy process “will likely be a lengthy one.”
“Throughout this process, we will seek just treatment for all survivors while also ensuring, as much as possible, that dedicated Church funds are directed for the purpose they are intended – sustaining the work of evangelization and ministry across Western New York,” he said.
The payouts given to survivors of clerical abuse “will ultimately be incorporated to and implemented as part of an overall reorganization plan,” he noted, adding it could take more than a year to finalize.
“The terms of the final plan will be voted on by survivors before it can be approved by the Federal Bankruptcy Court,” he said. “Essential to approval is that the Court finds that the plan treats all abuse survivors and other creditors of the Diocese fairly and equitably.”
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