Tuesday, August 25, 2026
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‘Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco’ Is Name of Corporation, Pleading in District Court Clarifies
By a MetNews Staff Writer
“The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco”—or “RCASF”—is an entity, not a person, and is not synonymous with the “archdiocese,” an answer to an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California points out.
Westport Insurance Company is suing to establish its non-liability under an insurance policy that its predecessor sold RCASF a half century ago pertaining to liability during the period from July 8, 1972, to July 8, 1975. RCASF contends that the policy covers potential losses in connection with more than 100 of the approximately 500 lawsuits brought against it pursuant to the Child Victims Act, enacted in 2019, which revives time-barred claims of childhood sexual assaults.
RCASF has declared bankruptcy.
In its complaint, Westport refers to assertions by the “archdiocese” of insurance coverage. The answer sets forth:
“The ‘Archdiocese’ refers generally to the geographic territory under Debtor’s jurisdiction for the Roman Catholic Church in the San Francisco area. The ‘Archdiocese’ is not the Debtor in the bankruptcy proceeding or a named defendant in this action. Accordingly, RCASF denies all allegations anywhere in the Complaint that refer to and/or are asserted against the ‘Archdiocese’ as if it were a named party (it is not) or the Debtor in the bankruptcy proceeding (it is not).”
The responsive pleading says:
“The RCASF admits that it is a corporation sole with its principal place of business in San Francisco, California.”
The archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone, leads the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Another entity that is frequently misidentified is “The Regents of the University of California,” often referred to in the first-person plural. It is the name of a public corporation.
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