California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in 2019 a measure called AB 218, which extended the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse victims. The law allows civil claims of childhood sexual abuse to be filed by victims until age 40 or five years after discovering the damages from the abuse. Previously, claims had to be filed by age 26 or within three years of discovering damages from the abuse.
“As a result of this change in the law, the Diocese of San Diego has received approximately 400 suits seeking monetary damages for alleged acts of sexual abuse by priests, religious, and laity in the diocese,” McElroy wrote.
“The majority of these suits concern actions that took place more than half a century ago. One important aspect of these lawsuits is that none of them claim sexual abuse by any priest of the Diocese of San Diego currently in ministry. This reflects the reality that the Church has taken enormous steps to root out the sexual abuse of minors in its life and to promote the protection of minors.”
In 2007, the San Diego Diocese paid out $198 million to settle 144 claims of abuse that had been brought during an earlier lifting of the statute of limitations, McElroy continued.
“This depleted most of the assets of the diocese. Even with insurance, the diocese will not be able to pay out similar sums now. This challenge is compounded by the fact that a bill has now been introduced into the Legislature that seeks to eliminate the statute of limitations entirely, leaving the diocese vulnerable to potential lawsuits forever,” McElroy wrote.
Separately, speaking to reporters on Friday, Kevin Eckery, communications director for the diocese, predicted that it would cost the diocese $550 million to settle the current cases.