The diocese’s website said that three of the accusations claim the abuse occurred within the last two decades. Almost all the allegations pertain to incidents occurring before 2003, the website said.
The late Bishop Floyd Begin, who became the first bishop of the Diocese of Oakland in 1962, is among the accused, NBC Bay Area reported in February. A December 2022 lawsuit accuses him of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl once in 1968. Begin, a former auxiliary bishop of Cleveland, died in 1977 at the age of 75.
The Oakland Diocese website lists 65 “credibly accused” priests, deacons, and vowed religious. It lists 21 Oakland Diocese priests, 36 priests and deacons from other dioceses or from religious orders, and eight religious brothers who lived in the diocese.
The recent lawsuits contain accusations against more than 30 members of the clergy who are not on the list, according to NBC Bay Area News. Some alleged abusers in the lawsuits are lay church employees, including teachers and coaches, and a handful of nuns.
Barber said in his letter that the bankruptcy filing will not affect the diocese’s Catholic schools, employees, Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul Society, or Catholic cemeteries.
The filing was made because it was “the best way” to support survivors of sexual abuse, and ensure the diocese continues its services, he said.