The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington says it has filed for bankruptcy, one day before a sex abuse trial was set to begin.
The Diocese filed Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
On Monday, a civil trial was scheduled to begin involving an alleged victim. The filing means the trial will be delayed.
The case would have been the first to come to trial under a Delaware law that created a two-year “lookback” window. That law allows claims of abuse to be brought even if the time allowed by the statute of limitations has passed. More than 100 lawsuits were filed before the period ended this summer, and some cases have been settled.
The diocese covers Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
