Latest Church Headlines

All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Bankruptcy Judge Approves Rockville Centre Diocese $320M Sex Abuse Claims Fund

Nov 19 2024 // A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a Chapter 11 plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York that includes a $320 million fund to compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse and settles insurance...

Vermont Diocese Files for Bankruptcy With No Insurance Left for Past Abuse Claims

Oct 2 2024 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it continues to face lawsuits over sexual abuse by its former clergy members in a state with no statute of limitations on...

Rockville Diocese Reaches Bankruptcy Agreement With $323M for Sex Abuse Claims

Sep 27 2024 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York reports that it has reached an agreement with survivors, insurers, parishes and other parties on a settlement of its bankruptcy case that includes a $323 million...

Norwich Catholic Diocese Files Chapter 11 Plan With $30M Fund for Survivors

Sep 10 2024 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich and its parishes, along with its insurer Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, have filed a joint Chapter 11 plan of reorganization as the diocese seeks to emerge from...

AM Best Assigns Issue Credit Rating to Church Mutual’s Surplus Notes

Aug 26 2024 // AM Best said it has assigned and placed under review with negative implications a Long-Term Issue Credit Rating of bbb+ (Good) to the $40 million, 9.5% surplus notes due 2044 issued by Church Mutual Insurance Company,...

Houses of Worship and the State of Insurance

Aug 19 2024 // A recent Insurance Journal article decried the state of insurance for churches and it’s mostly about their property insurance issues and we all know that the property insurance space has struggled in recent years,...

How a Perfect Storm Sent Church Insurance Rates Skyrocketing

Jul 25 2024 // The Rev. John Parks was taking his first sabbatical in 40 years of ministry when he got a call from his church’s accountant with some bad news.Church Mutual, the church’s insurance company, had dropped them....

Fire Severely Damages Historic First Dallas Baptist Church Sanctuary

Jul 22 2024 // A fire all but destroyed the historic church sanctuary at First Baptist Dallas, sending smoke billowing over the city but causing no deaths or injuries, Dallas firefighters said.The fire in the Texas Historic Landmark, a...

Washington AG Says Catholic Church Stonewalling Sex Abuse Investigation

May 13 2024 // The Catholic church is refusing to cooperate with a Washington state investigation into whether it unlawfully used charitable trust funds to cover up sexual abuse by priests, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said, asking a...

Clergy Sexual Abuse Probe Targets New Orleans Catholic Church Leaders

May 8 2024 // NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities have expanded an investigation of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans to include senior church officials suspected of shielding predatory priests for decades and...

Chubb Wins Latest Battle With New York Diocese in Bid to Avoid Sex Abuse Claims

Apr 24 2024 // A New York state appeals court has reinstated Chubb insurance companies’ bid for judgments declaring that they are not obligated to cover thousands of sex abuse lawsuits brought against the Archdiocese of New York...

Brooklyn Diocese Settles with New York AG for Mishandling Clergy Sex Abuse Cases

Apr 18 2024 // New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn to address years of reported mismanaging clergy sexual abuse cases.According to the Office of the Attorney General,...

Student from China Sentenced in Arson of Alabama Church in 2021

Apr 1 2024 // MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A 30-year-old woman in the U.S. on a student visa has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for setting fire to First Baptist Church in Montgomery in 2021, federal prosecutors said...

Bankruptcy Court Approves Camden Diocese’s $87.5M Plan for Abuse Victims

Mar 18 2024 // Almost three-and-one-half years after the Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey filed for bankruptcy citing financial effects from the pandemic and sexual abuse settlements, its Chapter 11 reorganization plan has been...

Police Investigate How Texas Church Shooter Obtained Rifle Despite Mental Illness

Feb 15 2024 // HOUSTON (AP) — The shooter who opened fire at a Houston megachurch before being gunned down by security officers used an AR-style rifle that police say she legally purchased despite a years-long criminal record, a...

No Injuries Reported After Steeple of Historic Connecticut Church Collapses

Jan 30 2024 // NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — An historic Connecticut church’s soaring steeple and roof collapsed on Thursday, leaving a gaping hole in the top of the building and the front reduced to a heap of rubble.No deaths or...

Fifth Circuit Upholds $502K Award for Louisiana Church in Hurricane Laura Damage Suit

Jan 25 2024 // The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month upheld a 2022 decision against Church Mutual Insurance Co. in favor of Sugartown United Pentecostal Church in Dry Creek, Louisiana, which sits about 50...

Prominent Black Church in New York Sued by Yale Professor for Gender Bias

Jan 9 2024 // A Yale professor has filed a federal gender discrimination lawsuit against a prominent Harlem church after it did not hire her for its senior pastor job.The suit brought by Eboni Marshall Turman accuses Abyssinian Baptist...

People Moves: Church Mutual Names Ogilvie Chief Executive Officer

Jan 4 2024 // Church Mutual Insurance Company, headquartered in Merrill, Wis., promoted Alan S. Ogilvie from president to president and chief executive officer. Ogilvie assumed the role from Rich Poirier, who retired after 12 years at...

People Moves: Church Mutual Promotes Ogilvie to CEO; World Insurance Associates Hires Klien as EVP; Amwins Appoints Armijo President of Amwins Underwriting

Jan 3 2024 // Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. promoted Alan S. Ogilvie from president to president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2024.Ogilvie assumed the role from Rich Poirier, who has retired after 12 years of...