Claims against St. Paul archdiocese top 400 at bankruptcy-court deadline

August 05, 2015

A last-minute rush of sex-abuse claims against the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, prompted by a deadline set by a bankruptcy court, has brought the total number of claims up to 407—a figure that Archbishop Bernard Hebda described as “staggering.”

“It’s helped me to realize how much pain there can be out there on these issues, that there can be 407 people carrying these burdens,” said Archbishop Hebda, who has been serving as administrator of the archdiocese since the June resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt.

The bankruptcy court had set August 4 as the last date for creditors to enter claims against the financial resources of the Minnesota archdiocese. Among the new claims filed at the deadline was a defamation suit filed by Jennifer Haselberger, who had once served as a canonical official for the archdiocese but later became a leading critic of the handling of sex-abuse claims.

An attorney for the archdiocese said that Church officials are struggling to find available resources that can be used to pay the legal claims. The sale of the chancery building seems likely; other archdiocesan properties will probably be put on the market.

 

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Further information:

• Interim Archbishop Hebda: Flood of abuse claims is 'staggering' (Star-Tribune)
• Court deadline brings a flood of new sex-abuse claims against Minnesota archdiocese (CWN, 8/4)