New Orleans Archdiocese will file for bankruptcy: NOLA.com report

The Archdiocese of New Orleans is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to a report from our partners at The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.

Mounting costs from unresolved clergy-abuse lawsuits and the shutdown of church services due to the COVID-19 pandemic were the driving forces behind the Archdiocese's financial problems, according to the report.

The archdiocese is expected to continue ministering to its parishioners in a relatively normal fashion. Despite filling for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, masses and schools will continue operating under the new normal.

WWLTV Legal Analyst Chick Foret said the move gives the Archdiocese a break.

"This is the initial filing in a very complicated procedure, but what it does short term is, it hits the pause button," Foret said. "It stops the people, creditors, from collecting any debts that the archdiocese would owe at this point. They don't have the money to pay now anyway, the archdiocese says, because their cash flow has been stopped and interrupted by the coronavirus."

Any pending litigation against the Archdiocese by any alleged victims of sexual abuse will be stayed for the time being. A bankruptcy judge will decide whether those cases can move forward.

FULL STORY: https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/new-orleans-archdiocese-will-file-for-bankruptcy-nolacom-report/289-15efba58-af10-4f09-af34-e542ea33af20