Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger sought to assure donors that gifts to this year’s Catholic Charities appeal will be used for services and programs to benefit the needy, even as he acknowledged the Buffalo Diocese could pursue chapter 11 protection to settle more than 225 Child Victims Act lawsuits that have been filed against it since August, the Buffalo News reported. Catholic Charities officials yesterday set a fundraising target of $10 million — about $500,000 more than they raised last year. A chapter 11 filing would trigger an intense analysis of the diocese’s assets to determine what could be used to pay settlements. Catholic Charities is separately incorporated from the Buffalo Diocese, which means its assets would not be in play. But each year, the diocese takes a portion of the Catholic Charities appeals and uses it for its own operations. Historically, about $35 of every $100 raised in the appeal goes into the Fund for the Faith, which is controlled by the diocese and is used for ministries such as diocese communications, seminary training and campus ministry.
