MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court Friday morning.
The move wasn’t unexpected. Archdiocese officials had said in recent months that they were considering bankruptcy, following news of a $9.1 million operating deficit for fiscal year 2014 and expectations of more lawsuits by people who say they are victims of clergy sexual abuse, in addition to the more than two dozen that have already been filed lawsuits.
Bankruptcy protection will put any current lawsuits against the archdiocese on hold, including three sex abuse trials that were slated to begin at the end of the month. However, new claims can be filed while the bankruptcy case is active.
In November, the archdiocese said its operating deficit can be partly attributed to $4.1 million spent to address allegations of clergy sexual abuse since May 2013, when a three-year window opened for abuse victims to file claims that were otherwise barred under the statute of limitations.
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