MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 01/21/2015
Days into the bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a federal bankruptcy judge has ordered the parties to mediation.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Kressel said at a hearing Tuesday that he wanted to get things moving and to avoid high costs.
“The history, other than with one notable exception, is these cases — and by these I mean diocesan cases — end up in a settlement,” Kressel said. “… I’m hopeful and confident that’s going to happen here — but the question becomes: is that three or four years from now, with $17 million in fees, or is it six months from now with a fraction of that? I assume that’s a goal we all share.”
The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday, calling it the best option to address all claims of sexual abuse at once, “fairly and with finality.”
Church officials had said they were considering bankruptcy in the wake of news of a $9.1 million operating deficit for fiscal year 2014 and expectations of more lawsuits over alleged clergy sexual abuse — more than two-dozen have already been filed and the church has received notice of at least 100 more claims.
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