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 has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.