The Baltimore Archdiocese is considering filing for bankruptcy as it anticipates a potential flood of lawsuits starting Oct. 1, when a new Maryland law will lift the statute of limitations on claims from those who say they were sexually abused as children, according to internal emails among church officials and a communications specialist, the Baltimore Sun reported. While many have expected the nation’s oldest archdiocese might file for bankruptcy as dioceses in other states have done in the face of child sex abuse lawsuits, an email chain obtained by the Baltimore Sun confirms this is an option under consideration. “I would suggest reverting back to the plan of not ‘announcing’ until the time of filing, and only confirming, if the media picks up on our internal conversations, that we are sharing information about the upcoming law change,” wrote Sean T. Caine of Caine Communications on Friday, “what it means, how it might impact the various agencies of the Church, and how the Church may respond. “The issue of bankruptcy was raised among many optional responses,” he wrote. Asked about a potential bankruptcy, Christian Kendzierski, the spokesman for the archdiocese, said in an emailed statement that officials are “preparing for the impact of the new law” and “considering how to best respond to it.
