MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
Monday marked the deadline to file claims in the bankruptcy case of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
By 5 p.m., more than 650 claims had been filed and processed, though the final number likely won’t be available until Tuesday. At least 370 of those were filed by victims of clergy sexual abuse — that number was expected to rise to more than 400 — and more than 150 were filed by local churches or parishes. Dozens were also filed by other religious organizations and Catholic schools.
An attorney filing on behalf of many victims said it was shaping up to be the third-highest number of abuse claims in an archdiocese or religious order bankruptcy in recent memory. In the case of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, there were more than 500. In the Jesuits’ Oregon Province case, there were about 460.
A Twin Cities archdiocesan legal representative could not be reached for comment.
The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, citing an operating deficit and sex abuse lawsuits.
There is hope that the archdiocese’s many insurance policies will cover the claims, but the insurance companies have reportedly pushed back and how much eventual coverage will be available is unresolved.
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