Statement Regarding Motion for Consolidation

By Tom Halden
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
May 24, 2016

http://www.archspm.org/archspm_news/statement-regarding-motion-consolidation/

From Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda 

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has been fully cooperating with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court since filing in January of 2015. Let me be clear: The Archdiocese has disclosed all of its assets and has followed all the rules set forth by the Court and all directives from the judge. I know that for at least the last 11 months we have been working extremely hard to marshal and maximize our assets with the hope of providing the most for the most.

Today, a motion was filed by the Unsecured Creditors Committee that questions our calculation to include the assets of parishes, schools and charities in the bankruptcy proceedings. We are carefully reviewing that motion and will count on the Court to properly evaluate it. It sadly tells us that there is still much that needs to be done to restore trust in our affirmations that we are serious about redressing wrongs.

The bankruptcy process is complex and difficult; it can be – at times -- adversarial. I would suspect that the lawyers representing the parishes and the other institutions mentioned in the filing today will have a very different perspective than what is presented in the motion.

Despite the motion filed today, we will file our Plan for Reorganization with the Court this week and we welcome the scrutiny of the Court and all others involved. We believe it will show our commitment to a fair, just and timely resolution of all the claims made against us – especially for those who have been hurt by people in the Church.

Please continue to pray for all of those who have been sexually abused and for their families and for a quick resolution to these proceedings.