A tentative settlement announced Wednesday between the Catholic Diocese of New Ulm and 93 people who allege they were sexually abused by clergy as children calls for the claimants to receive roughly $34 million.
“This is a big day for the survivors,” Jeff Anderson, attorney for many of the New Ulm claimants. “Throughout this process, all of the survivors have demonstrated tremendous courage and patience. They have advanced the child protection movement and made their communities safer for kids.”
Anderson also represents clients in negotiations with dioceses in St. Cloud and Winona-Rochester. He said last month that litigation against the Crookston diocese is going forward after settlement negotiations broke down.
The Diocese of Winona-Rochester claimed bankruptcy in November of 2018 and set a deadline in April 2019 for those wishing to file a claim of sexual abuse. A total of 121 claims had been filed against the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, naming 17 priests. Many of them were filed as a result of the state’s Child Victims Act, which lifted the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse for three years. At the time, Bishop John Quinn said bankruptcy was necessary to ensure the victims are able to get justice and heal.
New Ulm Bishop John M. LeVoir said something similar in a statement published by the Mankato Free Press.
“Victims and survivors have courageously worked to raise awareness about the tragedy of childhood sexual abuse and how we must address it,” the statement read. “I hope and pray that today’s settlement helps victims and survivors on their healing journey.”
Once the documents in the New Ulm settlement are approved by the court, the 93 claimants will vote on the plan by ballot, Anderson said. Then the court approves the plan after claimant vote.
Should the payout be finalized, a claims reviewer will evaluate who gets how much money.
The settlement includes $8 million from the diocese and its parishes with the balance covered by the religious body’s insurers, Anderson said.
The New Ulm Diocese is home to about 60,000 Catholics served by 68 parishes in 15 counties.
This is the second such settlement in the state in the past eight weeks. In early May, the Diocese of Duluth and its insurers agreed to a $40 million settlement with 125 plaintiffs who said they were sexually abused as children by clergy and others in the diocese.
That settlement also called on the diocese to relinquish secret files on 37 priests who it had determined were credibly accused of abuse. It also must develop procedures to ensure that children will be protected from such abuse in the future.
In 2018, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reached a $210 million settlement with more than 400 survivors.