St. Cloud Diocese to File for Bankruptcy, Pay $22.5 Million to Abuse Survivors

The Diocese of St. Cloud (Minn.) will pay $22.5 million to sexual abuse survivors and declare bankruptcy under the terms of a settlement agreement announced yesterday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The agreement, subject to a bankruptcy court filing expected in the next few weeks, addresses allegations made against 41 priests by some 70 survivors dating back to the 1950s. Many of the clerics are now dead, though one was still in active ministry as recently as 2015 at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Elk River. Attorney Jeff Anderson, who negotiated the settlement agreement on behalf of abuse survivors, said it amounts to “validation and affirmation” for those survivors, some of whom Anderson first represented in lawsuits filed in the 1980s. In 2014, the St. Cloud Diocese released the names of 33 priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse. New lawsuits and information boosted that number to 41. The diocese announced in 2018 that it would file for bankruptcy, beginning the negotiations that led to yesterday’s announcement. The agreement also calls for the diocese to turn over its files on the 41 credibly accused priests.