The Diocese of Buffalo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020, and more than 900 abuse claims have been filed in the case, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York. A final confirmation hearing is scheduled for October 27, WKBW reported. Reports differ on the proposed settlement amount: WIVB gives a figure of $326 million, while WKBW cites $326 million in its opening and later refers to $362 million. The difference has not been reconciled.
WKBW reported that a Lockport man who says he was abused by a diocesan priest voted against the proposal. He called it “an insult” and said he is seeking accountability and a public apology from the Pope rather than a financial resolution. WIVB reported that the proposed deal also includes provisions intended to strengthen child protection in diocesan institutions.
How child-protection policies are audited
Separately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says its annual Charter audit describes diocesan implementation of victim-assistance and child-protection policies and measures compliance with the Charter.
The allegations described in WKBW’s report concern Father Herold Nuwer. The man said he was abused more than 100 times from 1986 to 1988, when he was an altar boy at the former Our Lady of Loretto Church on Buffalo’s West Side. WKBW reported that Nuwer later served at another parish and died in 2009.
Other New York dioceses have reached bankruptcy resolutions. In Syracuse, a federal judge approved a plan providing a $176.1 million fund for 411 claims, according to syracuse.com. In Rochester, a $246.35 million settlement covering more than 500 claimants was approved last September, the Rochester Beacon reported.
Earlier diocesan bankruptcy cases
The Archdiocese of Portland filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2004, an earlier Catholic-diocese Chapter 11 case and, according to The Seattle Times, the first such filing by a Catholic diocese in the nation. In a separate case, a 2015 Milwaukee proposal called for a $21 million settlement for more than 300 clergy-abuse claimants; the Chicago Tribune reported that it was to be included in a reorganization plan awaiting bankruptcy-court review after a four-year proceeding.
