Church Leadership Prioritizes Self-Preservation Over Accountability
(Camden, NJ) – On February 2, 2022, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of New Jersey, The Diocese of Camden filed an amended Chapter 11 Bankruptcy plan, detailing a $90 million plan for over 300 survivors of clergy abuse. The tentative plan amount, created without the survivors’ input or approval, calls for payment from the Camden Diocese itself, Camden Diocese parishes, and five separate insurance companies that represent the diocese.
The harmful scheme, which the Bishop calls a plan, is convenient for the diocese. The plan is a grave injustice to victims and survivors, not the creditors. This is another pernicious plan devised by the Bishop that will get little to no support from the survivors.
Statement of Attorney Jeff Anderson:
“Bishop Dennis Joseph Sullivan has put forth another aggressive plan to escape accountability. It is not just aggressive; it is oppressive to the survivors of sexual abuse who have made claims under the New Jersey Victims’ Rights Bill. These survivors were oppressed and silenced by predator priests who were protected by the top diocesan officials. This plan is a shameless legal maneuver using the bankruptcy code to exclude survivors and to expedite a self-serving scheme without the survivors’ consent or input. The bishop is perilously again trying to overpower the victims, the survivors, and the creditors’ committee the same way they have for decades at the peril to so many kids – avoiding accountability, avoiding transparency, avoiding the truth, and using their power to revictimize.”