A bankruptcy filing by the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington was the best way to ensure reconciliation and compensation for all victims of clergy sexual abuse in the diocese, the bishop said Monday.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Sunday after settlement negotiations failed with 13 alleged victims, including eight whose trials were scheduled to begin. More than 100 other alleged victims were pursuing compensation outside the courts.

"It was clear to us in our negotiations that the amount of money that was being sought by the early victims and the finite amount that we had ... was not going to work," the Most Rev. W. Francis Malooly, the bishop of the diocese, said at a news conference Monday.