Archdiocese will not assert charitable immunity in bankruptcy case

The story was updated 12/16/25, 1:15 p.m., to add reaction from the creditors committee.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors filed a joint motion Dec. 10 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court that stipulates that the archdiocese will not use charitable immunity as a defense in the case.

The State of Maryland allows the defense of charitable immunity, based on the idea that it would be unfair for charitable organizations to pay for civil damages arising from lawsuits with funds received from donors, according to the People’s Law Library of Maryland.

In April, the creditors committee, which represents all those who have filed claims in the case for sexual abuse as minors, asked Judge Michele M. Harner, who oversees the case, to disallow charitable immunity for the archdiocese. A trial had been scheduled to begin Dec. 15 to decide the issue. 

However, the trial was cancelled because the stipulation filed Dec. 10 states, “The Debtor (the archdiocese) will not assert or otherwise rely upon the affirmative defense of charitable immunity, in the current Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization case or any related Chapter 11 case with respect to any claims filed in this case by survivors of sexual abuse by clergy or other representatives of the archdiocese.”

The stipulation also notes that the archdiocese will not authorize any parish, school or affiliated organization within the archdiocese to assert charitable immunity in their defense.

According to Christian Kendzierski, executive director of communications for the archdiocese, “The archdiocese has a longstanding commitment to supporting abuse survivors, beginning decades ago with unlimited counseling services, and continuing for nearly two decades with voluntary cash settlements to more than 100 survivors, all provided because it was the right thing to do, not because the law required it.”

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in September 2023. Earlier in 2023, the Child Victims Act was passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2023 and signed by Gov. Wes Moore. The CVA removed any statute of limitations on civil suits for sexual abuse of minors.

An amendment in 2025 dropped the limits on such suits from $1.5 million for private institutions such as churches and private schools. The cap for public institutions and schools dropped from $890,000 to $400,000. The amendment also sets the cap per claimant, rather than per incident, for both public and private claims.

Kendzierski said, “After the passage of the Child Victims Act, we entered the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process to ensure every court-approved claimant receives compensation through a survivors’ trust funded by both insurance proceeds and archdiocese assets, maintaining our dual obligation to help those harmed while continuing our mission to serve the community.”

While the archdiocese had asked the court for clarification on the charitable immunity option after the creditors committee pressed the issue, the archdiocese had never asserted the defense in the bankruptcy proceeding.

“Despite Maryland’s doctrine of charitable immunity, we entered the Chapter 11 process with the understanding that we would willingly contribute substantial assets from archdiocese funds in order to compensate victim survivors,” Kendzierski said. 

“The resolution of the charitable immunity proceedings allows us to resume progress toward the goal of compensating victim survivors as quickly as possible. We remain committed to working alongside the survivors committee to reach a meaningful resolution,” Kendzierski said.

Paul Jan Zdunek, chairman of the Unsecured Creditors Committee, said, “We believe the elimination of charitable immunity as a defense available to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore in this case removes a significant obstacle to achieving finality for all survivors in the case and we hope it will also create momentum and a renewed focus on settlement.”

Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org

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