News

The first civil trial regarding clergy sexual abuse of a minor under the Minnesota Child Victims Act will begin in the Doe 30 case on October 19, 2015, in Ramsey County District Court. The Diocese of Duluth is the defendant. An order issued by Ramsey County District Court Judge John Guthmann denied the Diocese of Duluth’s attempt to be dismissed as a party in the…

Judge Orders Diocese of Duluth to Produce All Recordson Child Sexual Abuse by Clergy from 1956-74 Judge Floerke’s Order in Doe 28 Case isBig Step Toward Diocese Accountability, Transparency    (St. Paul, MN) – St. Louis County District Court Shaun R. Floerke has ordered the Diocese of Duluth, the Defendant in the Doe 28 clergy sexual abuse lawsuit, to produce all records pertaining to sexual abuse reported to have been committed by any priest from 1956 to 1974. The secret documents will be produced to Doe 28 under seal as a result of a protective order previously obtained by …

The settlement the Archdiocese reached with the Creditors’ Committee on July 17 incorporated a claims classification review process that was and is still ongoing.  When the mediation settlement was reached, it included descriptions of different claims classifications for the various claims filed in the Chapter 11 proceeding.  The settlement allowed for a protocol for the Committee and lawyers for individual claimants to review the initial classification of any…

Archdiocese fails to treat survivors fairly in long, drawn-out legal battle
(Milwaukee, WI) – Today the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced a $21 million settlement to compensate clergy sexual abuse survivors. The settlement comes after four and a half years of drawn-out, painful legal battles resulting in millions of dollars in legal fees to bankruptcy attorneys. The Archdiocese objected to all 575 sexual abuse claims filed in bankruptcy court and attempted to have hundreds of the claims thrown out of court before the November, 2015, plan of reorganization hearing. As a result, the creditors’…

Accused Clergy Sexually Abused Children in Onamia,Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Diocese of St. CloudDoe 51 ComplaintDoe 56 Complaint  (St. Paul, MN) – Civil lawsuits were filed today by two men who were sexually abused as minors by clergy at Crosier Seminary in Onamia, Minn. Doe 51 and Doe 56 were molested by multiple priests and brothers of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (“Crosier”) religious order. Several of the clergy named in the complaints also interacted with and sexually abused children throughout Minnesota, including at parishes and schools in the Archd…

Accused Clergy Sexually Abused Children in Onamia,
Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, Diocese of St. Cloud

(St. Paul, MN) – Civil lawsuits were filed today by two men who were sexually abused as minors by clergy at Crosier Seminary in Onamia, Minn. Doe 51 and Doe 56 were molested by multiple priests and brothers of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (“Crosier”) religious order. Several of the clergy named in the complaints also interacted with and sexually abused children throughout Minnesota, including at parishes and schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapoli…

The names and assignment histories of seven priests of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (“Oblates”) who have been credibly accused…

(St. Cloud, MN) – Stearns County District Court Judge Kris Davick-Halfen ruled that a clergy sexual abuse survivor’s public nuisance claim against the Diocese of St. Cloud can proceed. Judge Davick-Halfen’s June 22, 2015, order will help hold the Diocese of St. Cloud accountable for protecting pedophile priests in the past and will help keep children safe in the future. A similar decision in 2013

(St. Paul, MN) – The creditors’ committee in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis bankruptcy case filed a motion in federal bankruptcy court today requesting the Archdiocese play an outreach video in all 216 of its parishes. It is the first time ever in a diocesan bankruptcy that survivors/creditors have made this request. Newly appointed apostolic administrator Bernard Hebda now has an opportunity to demonstrate the Archdiocese’s commitment to helping survivors of clergy sexual abuse.