ST. PAUL (MN)
Catholic News Service
January 2, 2018
By Maria Wiering
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said a bankruptcy judge’s decision that the archdiocese should return to mediation with the other involved parties “bolsters our resolve to move forward in the bankruptcy process.”
“We look to engage with all participants in mediation as directed by the judge to bring a prompt and fair resolution,” Tom Abood, chairman of the archdiocese’s Reorganization Task Force, said in a statement.
Federal bankruptcy court Judge Robert Kressel Dec. 28 denied two competing plans that attempted to resolve the archdiocese’s bankruptcy. He stated that he expected all parties to return to mediation.
In a joint memorandum issued to the archdiocese and the Unsecured Creditors Committee, which includes clergy sexual abuse claimants, Kressel said he expected the parties “to mediate in good faith” to reach an agreement “providing appropriate and timely compensation to those who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of those employed by or affiliated with the archdiocese.”
Abood said the archdiocese is “guided by (Kressel’s) words from earlier this year, that the longer this process continues, the less money will be available for those who have been harmed.”
He added, “We note and are gratified that Judge Kressel has once again directly dismissed the assertions by creditors’ counsel that the archdiocese has acted or is acting in bad faith regarding the reorganization.”
In his memorandum, Kressel expressed concern about the number of abuse claimants who have died since the archdiocese entered bankruptcy in January 2015, and that others may die as the reorganizations process “drags on.”
The judge said at least eight claimants have died, “essentially depriving them of meaningful compensation for the pain that they have endured.” He emphasized that the bankruptcy case affects actual people, especially those who suffered abuse and those who must pay for others’ actions.
“While the creditors committee seeks retribution for the wrongs suffered by victims, none of the people who committed the abuse in the first place or exacerbated it in the second place will suffer,” he wrote. “The financial cost of compensation falls not on any of these people, but a completely different group of people. It falls on current employees, including priests, teachers, coaches, and on retired school librarians and others who have worked for the archdiocese and the parishes and earned a modest retirement.
“The cost may fall on students at Catholic schools and their parents. It will fall on thousands of parishioners. And the cost will be borne by beneficiaries of the charity and other good works by the archdiocese and the parishes,” the memorandum continued.
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.