Creditors representing the survivors of child abuse by the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese are asking a judge to dismiss the Church’s bankruptcy case after more than a year of failed mediation.
If approved, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner would scrap the Church’s request for Chapter 11 and then the organization would be liable for any lawsuits that have been or will be filed against it.
In recent weeks, survivors have expressed frustration at how long the case is taking. The Archdiocese has taken multiple steps to invalidate the charges against it, like filing for a rarely used exemption called charitable immunity which excludes nonprofits from lawsuits.
