A critical decision on the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese bankruptcy case is set for early next year. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner issued an interim order this week stating she will decide in January on whether she will dismiss the case, allowing survivors of sexual abuse to sue the church individually.

Mediation is ongoing between the church and the survivors. However, the archdiocese is petitioning the court for reprieve through the charitable immunity doctrine. That doctrine would protect the church from civil lawsuits because it is a tax-exempt organization and the money should be used for religious or educational purposes. The People’s Law Library of Maryland states the purpose behind charitable immunity is that it would be "unfair to make charitable organizations pay for civil damages with funds received from donors.”

Harner said she wants to issue an opinion on charitable immunity before deciding on dismissal.

Theresa Lancaster, a lawyer representing survivors, said she feels the archdiocese is trying to skirt responsibility.

“If the church truly cared about the lifelong suffering of the survivors and what they endured. They wouldn't block justice that you know. The survivors are continuing to wait,” Lancaster said. “The General Assembly got rid of charitable immunity basically when it passed the Child Victims Act.”

In September, creditors representing the survivors of child abuse by the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese asked Harner to dismiss the Church’s bankruptcy case after more than a year of failed mediation.

That filing came out of frustration from survivors as the church attempted to invalidate abuse cases through archaic laws and constitutional challenges.

One survivor wrote about their frustration to Harner in August.

“What started as a positive situation as the rust of a newly enacted law by the Maryland legislature years ago has developed into what one might describe as a circus,” the survivor wrote. “Who do the victims believe and what can they believe? Especially when there is almost complete secrecy surrounding this case.”