MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Martin Moylan Dec 7, 2015
The Diocese of Duluth on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection, saying that’s the path it must take if it’s to find a way to compensate clergy sexual abuse victims and continue the church’s mission.
Last month, a jury ordered the diocese and a Catholic religious order to pay more than $8 million in damages to a man who was sexually abused by a priest in 1978. The diocese says it can’t afford its nearly $5 million share of the settlement.
In a statement on the diocese website, the Rev. James Bissonette, vicar general of the diocese, said leaders were left with no choice but to file for reorganization.
The bankruptcy filing “safeguards the limited assets of the diocese and will ensure that the resources of the diocese can be shared justly with all (clergy abuse) victims” while letting the diocese continue its daily work, he added.
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