NEW ULM (MN)
Catholic News Service
June 28, 2019
The Diocese of New Ulm has reached a $34 million settlement with 93 survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
In a letter to Catholics of the diocese, Bishop John M. LeVoir said he believes the settlement “we have reached is a fair one” for abuse survivors and also allows the diocese to continue its ministry to those it serves throughout south and west-central Minnesota.
“(It) represents years of respectful negotiations with those representing victims and survivors in order to come to a fair resolution of claims while continuing essential church ministry,” he said June 26. “I believe the settlement agreement we have reached is a fair one.”
News reports quoted Jeff Anderson, an attorney for many of the New Ulm claimants, as saying that reaching the settlement was “a big day for survivors.”
“Throughout this process, all of the survivors have demonstrated tremendous courage and patience,” he said. “They have advanced the child protection movement and made their communities safer for kids.”
A June 26 diocesan news release on the agreement said the funds for the settlement “are made up of insurance coverage settlements and cash and property contributions from the diocese and parishes, including parishes that do not have claims against them.”
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