Archdiocese of Baltimore files revised bankruptcy plan, could fund abuse claims

The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s revised bankruptcy plan could change the stakes for both abuse survivors and parishioners across the city: it would make almost $169 million available to settle about 900 claims, while leaving open the question of how much local churches, schools and related Catholic entities may ultimately have to contribute.

The 175-page proposal, filed May 15, would send just under $44 million from the archdiocese itself and at least $125 million from insurance carriers into an independent Survivor Compensation Trust. The plan also leaves the door open for participating parishes and certain Catholic entities to join later through an abbreviated Chapter 11 process, with their contribution amount still to be determined. The archdiocese says parishes and schools would keep operating without interruption under the proposed structure.

For survivors, the next pressure point is the court calendar. Objections to the plan were due May 29, and Judge Michelle M. Harner has scheduled hearings in the coming weeks. Before any settlement framework can take hold, the proposal still has to survive those objections and win court approval. The archdiocese says it is still pursuing a mediated resolution, but no final agreement has been reached.

The filing marks another step in a case that began when the archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sept. 29, 2023, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division. About 1,000 survivors have filed claims. The bankruptcy has unfolded alongside Maryland’s Child Victims Act of 2023, which eliminated time limits for child sexual abuse lawsuits and was upheld by the state’s highest court in February 2025.

The new proposal also reflects how far the talks have moved from the archdiocese’s earlier October 2025 form plan, which offered about $33 million from the archdiocese and affiliated Catholic entities. Survivors’ lawyers later said that proposal was far too low and called the newer filing a “step backwards.” Even so, the latest plan suggests the church is trying to move from a fight over the shape of the bankruptcy toward a structured payout system that could finally put real money in front of survivors and clarify what Baltimore-area parishes and Catholic schools may be asked to shoulder next.