May 19, 2026
My
Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
As
you have been aware, we have been faced with making reparations with the
survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy, employees, and volunteers
representing the Church. We have also worked hard to establish safe environment
protocols to prevent this evil from happening again. In July 2023 we filed for
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection to allow us to reach a global settlement for
abuse claims filed under the Child's Victim Act. Today I announced a big first
step in forming a Chapter 11 Plan that will lead the Diocese to settle with
survivors and emerge from bankruptcy.
The
Diocese and the parishes, schools and other Catholic entities within the
Diocese (the "Catholic Family") today announced that an important
milestone in the reorganization case has been reached. The Catholic Family has
reached a settlement in principle with the Official Committee of Unsecured
Creditors (the "Committee"), who represents the interests of the
survivors in the Chapter 11 case, under which the Catholic Family will
contribute $45 million to a survivor Trust to be formed under a plan of Reorganization
(the "Plan") to be developed and proposed jointly by the Diocese and
the Committee.
My
prayer is that this process and this settlement will bring peace and healing to
survivors and to the faithful whose hearts were broken by the gravely sinful
conduct of Church leaders and representatives.
While
this settlement is a good first step, there is more work to be done. The
Diocese and Creditors' Committee will continue to negotiate details of child
protection policies and protocols to enhance measures already undertaken by the
Diocese to protect young parishioners, students and all people entrusted to the
care of the Church. The Diocese of Ogdensburg is committed to ensuring the
safety of everyone entrusted to our care. The great harm caused by this heinous
sinful behavior must never be allowed to happen again.
Additionally,
negotiations will continue with our insurers. Our insurers, upon reaching a
settlement in this case, will pay additional funds into the settlement Trust
for survivors. When these remaining matters are settled, the Diocese will
submit its plan of Reorganization. The Plan will be subject to a vote of all
claimants in the Chapter 11 case (including survivors of abuse) and must be
confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court before its terms (including payment of the
Catholic Family Settlement) will become effective. Once the Plan is confirmed,
the Diocese and its insurers will pay the funds into the settlement Trust, and
the Diocese will emerge from Bankruptcy.
My
hope and prayer is that this process will bring peace and healing to all
survivors. I ask for your continued prayers for all whose lives have been
devastated by the behavior of Church leaders. In addition, please pray for our
Diocese and the people we serve. Asking God to bless you abundantly, I am
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Terry R. LaValley
Bishop of Ogdensburg
Chapter 11 reorganization is an action undertaken voluntarily by an entity to allow it to reorganize financially. The goal of reorganization is to respond to the claims of creditors and to emerge with its operations intact so the diocese can continue its mission. Reorganization immediately stops all efforts to collect debts and all legal actions against the entity. Chapter 11 does not mean the Diocese is going out of business or is insolvent.
As a result of the New York State Child Victim Act, the Diocese is currently facing 124 claims of sexual abuse of a minor, all dating back decades. Litigation costs and settlements would likely exceed many millions of dollars. The Diocese simply does not have the resources to settle or litigate these claims.
The Diocese would face 124 civil actions, which would require years of court involvement. Claimants who resolve their claims first would receive all funds available to pay survivors. As a result, later claimants would receive little or nothing. Most importantly, these lengthy proceedings would delay justice for victims, prolonging their pain and suffering.
Without reorganization, the Diocese would continue to face multiple civil actions; a slow, unpredictable, time consuming and costly process that would require years of court involvement. Most significantly, such lengthy lawsuits would delay justice for the survivors and only prolong their pain and suffering. In reorganization, all claims are resolved in one court where all survivors’ claims can be heard and be given due consideration while allowing the Diocese to continue to fulfill its day-to-day ministries to the people of Northern New York.
As part of our ministry, the Diocese desires to respond to the claims of survivors in a way that acknowledges their suffering and helps them find some sense of peace. Reorganization ensures survivors are treated fairly. Without such a filing, large awards or settlements for cases that move through the legal system early could exhaust available resources and leave little or nothing for survivors whose cases move through the legal system later. Reorganization is fairer to all.
It is our sincere hope and prayer that the process to resolve claims will have minimal effect on the celebration of sacraments and regular parish life. Some parishes have been directly sued under the CVA, and that does create the potential for some parish liability. While we hope to keep parish involvement to a minimum, it is likely all parishes will be asked to contribute to funds which will be available to address survivors’ claims.
Some schools also have been sued under the CVA. Therefore, there is a potential for liability for such schools. However, we hope to resolve claims against the schools and parishes through the framework of the Diocese’s reorganization plan. It is our sincere hope that this process will have minimal impact on the operation of Catholic schools in the diocese.
Chapter 11 does not mean that the Diocese of Ogdensburg has run out of money or will cease operations. We remain committed to ensuring we can continue to provide the sacraments and essential ministries. We expect that we can continue our ministries and operations while the reorganization case is pending and successfully emerge from reorganization as a stronger, even more vibrant organization.
Hiding information about abuse cases is not the purpose of reorganization. In a reorganization case, victims, their attorneys, and the court will be able to review documents and information relating to their claims, just like they could outside of reorganization. Documents and information related to claims will be available to victims and their legal teams.
138 CVA lawsuits were filed against the diocese following the August 2019 implementation of the Child Victims Act (CVA) in New York State. Over the last three years, 14 of the claims have been resolved by settlement or dismissal. The CVA allowed individuals who claim they are survivors of sexual abuse to file lawsuits against their abusers and their abusers’ employers regardless of when the alleged abuse took place.
Specific dollar figures are not cited in the claims. In the reorganization case, each case is evaluated independently, and a determination is made of how much will be awarded to each survivor. We remain committed to ensuring all survivors are treated justly.
