MINNESOTA
Catholic Spirit
Maria Wiering | April 12, 2016
A number of parishes implicated in child sex abuse claims should prepare for lawsuits related to those allegations to be filed before mid-May, according to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
In a March 30 letter to members of parishes implicated in sexual abuse claims filed against the archdiocese, Archbishop-designate Bernard Hebda called the anticipated lawsuits “a normal part of the litigation process” and urged Catholics to heed Scripture and “do not be afraid.”
Archdiocesan officials have anticipated the suits since it filed for Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in January 2015 in response to mounting claims of child sexual abuse by clergy. The archdiocese is aiming to resolve claims against individual parishes as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, but encourages parishes that are sued to consult their own attorneys.
“All parties involved — including dozens of insurance carriers that issued policies over the past six decades — are participating in mediation with the hope of settling the more than 400 sexual abuse claims that have been brought against the archdiocese and that presumably will soon be filed against parishes arising from the same facts,” Archbishop Hebda wrote.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.