Iowa City, Iowa – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday, becoming the fourth diocese in the nation to seek financial protection to deal with priest sex-abuse cases.
The filing comes less than two weeks before the diocese defends itself in court against accusations it failed to discipline a former bishop accused of sexually abusing a high school student.
Bishop William Franklin said the diocese was left with no other alternative to settle more than two dozen claims against priests accused of sexual abuse.
He said the move would ensure the financial health of the church.
“Today, the Diocese of Davenport is standing in the moment of a historic event,” Franklin wrote in a letter to members posted on the diocese website. “While providing just and fair compensation to victims/survivors, we also believe that the decision to reorganize is the best way in which we will be able to continue the Church’s mission.”
The Davenport diocese joins Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; and Tucson.
Like those dioceses and others nationwide, Davenport has been hit hard by allegations that its leaders failed to supervise and discipline priests that engaged in misconduct with young boys and girls.
In fall 2004, the diocese agreed to pay $9 million to settle 37 claims against priests dating to the 1950s and 1960s.
Many of the most recent claims focus on Bishop Law rence Soens, who has been accused of fondling as many as 15 students during his tenure as priest and principal at a Catholic high school in Iowa City during the 1960s.
Soens, who served as bishop in Sioux City, in western Iowa, from 1983 to 1998, denies the allegations.
His trial is scheduled to begin in Davenport on Oct. 23.
