Jason Amala represents over 25 victims who allegedly suffered sexual abuse by leaders within the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. The Diocese announced its plan to emerge from bankruptcy following hundreds of such lawsuits after the passage of the Child Victims Act.
The Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre and its parishes are some of the wealthiest in the nation and yet their plan fails to disclose that wealth or how much individual parishes propose paying to settle the lawsuits. Without disclosure of the amount that individual parishes are paying, it is impossible for survivors to determine whether the proposed settlement amounts are fair.
“Transparency is the only way to move forward with closing this chapter of the Diocese’s sex abuse scandal and ensuring justice for survivors,” said Jason Amala. “The Diocese’s lack of transparency is insulting but reflects why its bankruptcy has gone nowhere in the more than two years since this bankruptcy was filed.”
The plan was filed a week after the committee representing survivors in the bankruptcy filed its own plan. In its filing, the committee cited the failure of the Diocese to make a fair and reasonable proposal as the motive for proposing its own plan.
“The plan proposed by abuse survivors last week was an opportunity for the Diocese to finally accept responsibility and accountability for the harm it caused to hundreds of children,” said Jason. “The Diocese’s decision to ignore survivors by making its own proposal is disappointing, but not surprising.”
The Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre filed for bankruptcy protection in October of 2020 and is believed to be the wealthiest Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy protection.