More than three years after filing for bankruptcy protection amid mounting claims of child sex abuse by local clergy, the Archdiocese of New Orleans is preparing to sell off seven properties — including the shuttered Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, the St. Jude Community Center and the Catholic Bookstore Uptown — as a way to generate cash that could be used to help settle those claims, NOLA.com reported. In court documents filed this week, the archdiocese is seeking court approval to hire commercial real estate broker The McEnery Company to market the properties. If sold for their proposed asking prices, the properties would generate nearly $10.4 million for the local Roman Catholic Church. That’s likely a drop in the bucket relative to the cost of the bankruptcy process and the claims an estimated 500 or so abuse victims are seeking. Attorneys fees and other costs of the bankruptcy process have already totaled some $25 million, while the total amount of money victims are seeking has yet to be tabulated. It’s also still unclear how many victims will be allowed to file claims because of a 2021 state law that has extended the window to allowing alleged victims of clergy sex abuse to file suit. Until those questions are resolved, the chapter 11 reorganization plan cannot be finalized. Selling off the properties, however, is a first step. “The Archdiocese of New Orleans has stated since filing for chapter 11 reorganization that we anticipated property sales would be part of the proceedings,” archdiocese spokesperson Sarah McDonald said.
