MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

[with video]

By Jean Hopfensperger Star Tribune MAY 26, 2016

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed its financial reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Thursday, offering a strategy for regaining financial stability while compensating an expected 400 clergy abuse claims.

The plan calls for the creation of a $65 million trust fund for victims, which could increase in size if further insurance settlements are reached, as well as a $500,000 counseling fund for victims and new protocols to prevent future abuse.

“We filed our plan today — after 16 months — because victims/survivors cannot be compensated until a plan of reorganization is finalized and approved,” Archbishop Bernard Hebda said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. “The longer the process lasts, more money is spent on attorneys’ fees and bankruptcy expenses, and … less money is available for them.”

Hebda acknowledged that the plan…