Archdiocese goes bankrupt

last updated 8 January 2015

Portland, Ore.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland announced this week it would file for bankruptcy rather than risk losing a sexual abuse lawsuit in court. The archdiocese, the first in the nation to request Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has already paid $53 million to more than 130 people allegedly abused by priests. Two new lawsuits were asking for another $160 million. One had been scheduled for trial this week. “The pot of gold is pretty much empty,” Archbishop John Vlazny said. An attorney for one alleged victim said the church was just pleading poverty because that would freeze the lawsuits. “The bishop hasn’t begun to touch his pot,” lawyer David Slader said. “He is lying.”