Delaware diocese emerges from bankruptcy

(AP) WILMINGTON, Del. - The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington has emerged from bankruptcy with the funding of a $77.4 million trust for victims of priest sex abuse.

Attorneys told a Delaware bankruptcy judge that a check deposit and wire transfers had been made in compliance with Monday’s deadline for funding the trust.

The diocese serves about 230,000 Catholics in Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It sought Chapter 11 protection in October 2009 on the eve of the first in a series of trials scheduled in lawsuits filed by alleged victims of priest abuse.

Under the diocese’s reorganization plan, some 150 alleged abuse victims will share proceeds of the trust in return for releasing all legal claims against the diocese, its parishes and affiliated entities.