Catholic Diocese of Syracuse Does Not Anticipate Filing Bankruptcy

The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse says it doesn’t anticipate filing bankruptcy in light of an increasing number of lawsuits under New York State’s expanded Child Victims Act.

The law allows the victims of child sex crimes to pursue legal action not only against their accused attacker but that person’s employer or associated agencies even decades after the incident.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester was the first in New York to seek bankruptcy protection as a result of sexual misconduct lawsuits.

The Associated Press reports all eight dioceses in New York face financial pressure under the expanded law giving victims a year to go ahead with old claims that would not be followed under New York’s old statutes of limitation.

AP says the Dioceses of Albany, Buffalo, Ogdensburg and Rockville Center said they had not decided on any bankruptcy filing while Syracuse and the Archdiocese of New York both said they didn’t anticipate asking for financial protection.  The Diocese of Brooklyn flat out said it was not considering bankruptcy.