Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania files for bankruptcy after paying out $12 million in abuse claims

A Catholic priest in his church.
(Image credit: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

The Diocese of Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, becoming the first Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania to do so.

In August, the diocese announced it paid $12 million to more than 100 people who filed claims of sexual abuse against clergy and others working in the diocese. In 2018, a grand jury found that over seven decades, more than 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania sexually abused children, and their crimes were covered up by church leaders. Harrisburg was one of the six dioceses named in the grand jury's report.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.