An insurer for the Archdiocese of Baltimore has proposed contributing $100 million towards a settlement for abuse victims, marking the latest development in the archdiocese’s long-running bankruptcy proceedings linked to clerical sexual abuse. Court documents cited by EWTN show that Hartford Insurance Group made the offer in a filing submitted on 3 April in US bankruptcy court.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2023 as it faced the prospect of a large number of abuse-related lawsuits. The move came shortly before Maryland’s Child Victims Act took effect in October that year. According to EWTN, that law removed the statute of limitations for civil negligence suits relating to child sexual abuse.
EWTN reported that the archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest proposal. The reported offer from Hartford comes after further litigation between the archdiocese and insurers. In 2024, the archdiocese sued multiple insurance companies, arguing that they had failed to pay abuse claims that the Church said were covered under their policies.
The bankruptcy case has unfolded alongside broader restructuring across the archdiocese. Last year, the archdiocese said it would close more than half of the parishes in the city of Baltimore, reducing the number from 61 to 23 amid a sharply declining local Catholic population. At the time, Archbishop William Lori said the reorganisation would help the remaining parishes focus on mission and ministry rather than ageing and deteriorating buildings.
Insurance frequently plays a central role in abuse settlements involving Catholic dioceses and archdioceses. EWTN noted that such payouts are often funded through several channels, including insurance contributions, payments drawn from parish reserves, property sales and support from affiliated institutions such as cemeteries.
The report also recalled analysis from Marie Reilly, a professor of law at Penn State University and a specialist in bankruptcy litigation, including Catholic diocesan bankruptcy proceedings. Speaking to EWTN in 2025, she said insurance cover for sexual-abuse claims changed significantly from the mid-1990s onwards. Before then, she said, general liability policies often included cover for employee liability that could extend to abuse claims against dioceses arising from the conduct of employees. After 1996, she said, revised standards largely removed that protection from newer policies.
The Hartford proposal does not in itself conclude the Baltimore case, but it points to the scale of the financial negotiations still under way as the bankruptcy proceedings continue. For abuse survivors, Church officials and insurers alike, the case remains one of the most consequential of its kind in the United States, combining questions of compensation, accountability and the future financial stability of a major archdiocese. That much is clear even before the court decides whether the proposed contribution will form part of any final settlement.
