Facing a mountain of sexual abuse lawsuits, the Oakland Diocese might file for bankruptcy.
On Thursday, Bishop Michael Barber posted a letter on the diocese's website, saying he's giving bankruptcy "strong consideration."
A new state law opened a three-year window for many people who were sexually assaulted as children, to sue their alleged abusers, years after it happened.
As NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit first reported, more than a thousand new lawsuits have been filed against the catholic church throughout Northern California and Barber said he's learned about 330 target the Oakland Diocese.
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Barber said that filing for bankruptcy protection may be the only way to provide "equitable" compensation for abuse survivors while also preserving the church.
The Diocese of Santa Rosa just filed for chapter 11 this week, for the same reason.
Tim Stier, a former Bay Area priest, was defrocked last year, after protesting the catholic church’s abuse record.
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After reading the bishop’s open letter, he said the diocese intentions are clear.
“Their method is always to protect the assets. It’s a lawyerly approach, but it’s not the way of Jesus and the gospel,” Stier said.
Dan McNevin told NBC Bay Area that a priest of the Oakland Diocese molested him when he was a child.
He now helps other victims through snap, a volunteer group of survivors of clergy abuse. He added that if this bankruptcy for the Diocese of Oakland goes through, it’ll limit how much compensation can be given to survivors.
“Secondly, it’s going to keep the files closed. When you’re in a bankruptcy, it’s no longer about right and wrong and cover up. It’s really just about the money. And it would freeze any discovery that would lead the public from discovering how widespread the abuse was,” he said.
