About a dozen dioceses and archdioceses in the United States are currently in bankruptcy proceedings as a result of multiple lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children.

The Los Gatos High School Union High School District settled a sex abuse suit for nearly $3.5 million, and the Los Gatos Elementary Union School District faces a November trial in another sex abuse lawsuit.

The Catholic Church says it could be forced to litigate hundreds or thousands of cases of sex abuse by priests, resulting in potentially billions of dollars in retroactive punitive damages.