Multiple parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York, are celebrating after the Vatican said they would not have to contribute disputed amounts of cash into the diocesan abuse settlement plan.
Save Our Buffalo Churches said in an April 30 press release that the Dicastery for the Clergy had revoked multiple “assessment allocation decrees” levied by Bishop Michael Fisher amid the diocesan “Road to Renewal” plan.
That plan, first announced in 2024, moved to close and/or merge around a third of the dioceseʼs parishes, driven in part by priest shortages and declining attendance.
Save Our Buffalo Churches has protested against the plan since its inception, winning several victories at the Vatican regarding the closures. The Vatican had said it would also examine the dioceseʼs assessment plan that levied significant cash requirements on closing and merging parishes to pay into the diocesan abuse settlement.
In its April 30 press statement, Save Our Buffalo Churches said that eight parish groups had received word from the Vatican that Fisherʼs assessment decrees had been revoked.
Several other parishes were awaiting word from the Vatican on their own appeals. The parish group said it “fully expects” those parishes to receive similar decrees.
The parish preservation group said that the Vatican in its decrees cited canon law violations regarding parish fund procurement “as well as the amounts and methods undertaken to procure those monies.”
“The amounts assessed, as well as the allocation procedures themselves, are wholly unsupported by canon law,” the group claimed, stating the diocese has engaged in a “significant lack of adherence” to both canon law and nonprofit religious corporation law.
In a statement on April 30, the Buffalo Diocese said that the Vaticanʼs decisions “affect only those parishes that appealed their determined contribution levels” to the diocesan abuse settlement. The settlement plan itself will continue unaffected, the diocese said.
The diocese disputed the groupʼs claim that the Vatican had ordered the funds transferred “back” to the parishes.
“It is important to note that no parish funds have ever left the possession or administration of parishes,” the statement said. “Parish funds designated for the settlement have been segregated into a separate account administered by the parish until which time they will be turned over to fulfill [the abuse settlement].”
The diocese pointed to Fisherʼs decision in March to have the diocese contribute an extra $10 million to the abuse settlement fund while lightening the contribution requirements for some parishes. The April 30 statement also denied a claim by the parish group that contribution amounts above $15,000 must be approved by the Vatican.
“The bishop has every intention to abide by the rulings of the offices of the Holy See, as he has confirmed repeatedly,” the diocese said. “Several parishes have prevailed in their appeals to the bishop’s decree that they merge with another parish or close. Bishop Fisher has accepted those determinations and will continue to monitor those parishes for their ability to be self-sustaining and viable.”
The parish advocates had sought civil relief last year by taking their case against the Buffalo Diocese all the way to the New York Supreme Court. That court tossed the lawsuit out in September 2025, citing a long-standing “prohibition against court involvement in the governance and administration of a hierarchal church.”
It is unclear if the Vaticanʼs decrees will affect any civil disputes still active in the New York court system, though the Buffalo parish group indicated on April 30 that advocates may pursue more court action in light of the Vaticanʼs rulings.
“[Save Our Buffalo Churches] now looks forward to the effect these decisions will have on the current civil proceedings,” the group said. “The victims must receive their settlement, but from legal sources.”
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