MINNESOTA
Minneapolis Star Tribune
It is the 16th Catholic Diocese in the country to file for bankruptcy.
By Rochelle Olson and Jean Hopfensperger MARCH 3, 2017
The Diocese of New Ulm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, becoming the 16th Catholic religious organization in the nation to seek protection from clergy sex abuse claims.
The New Ulm Diocese had received 101 claims of child sex abuse in recent years, and financial reorganization was the fairest way to address the claims, said New Ulm Bishop John LeVoir in a statement.
The claims were made through the 2013 Minnesota Child Victim’s Act, which opened a three-year window for filing older abuse claims.
“Reorganization provides the diocese a process to fulfill its obligation, as much as possible, to victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse of minors, while continuing to carry out its ministry,” LeVoir said in a statement.
New Ulm is the third Minnesota diocese to declare bankruptcy in response to an outpouring of child sexual abuse claims. The St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese and the Duluth Diocese filed in 2015. The cases are making their way through federal bankruptcy court.
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