STOCKTON (CA)
The Record
By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
Record Staff Writer
June 07, 2013
STOCKTON – Bishop Stephen Blaire said Thursday that, despite a potential bankruptcy by the Diocese of Stockton, churches and schools under its umbrella would not be financially impacted.
Bankruptcy could be the next chapter for the church because of child sex abuse scandals, a move more than half a dozen dioceses across the country have made after being hit by lawsuits from victims seeking billions of dollars.
The Diocese of Stockton, based in a city that is facing its own financial problems as the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy, said the organization is considering relief from the federal court.
Confirmation of the potential to file for bankruptcy follows a lawsuit settlement for $1.75 million with a victim of defrocked priest Oliver O’Grady, whose pedophilia was chronicled in the documentary “Deliver Us From Evil,” and who was convicted in San Joaquin County in the 1990s.
Half of the settlement from this lawsuit will come from an insurance company, and the diocese is responsible for the other half, but Blaire said the organization has few resources left to settle other pending claims.
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