Winona Diocese Anticipates Bankruptcy

Houston Chronicle
October 7, 2014

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Document-Winona-Diocese-anticipates-bankruptcy-5807301.php

St. Paul, Minn. attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents several survivors of priest abuse, shows the files released by the Diocese of Winona that outline communication within the church about 14 priests who have been credibly accused of abuse, during a news conference Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014, in Rochester, Minn. The Diocese of Winona anticipates it will file for bankruptcy as a result of lawsuits filed by victims of clergy sex abuse. Diocese spokesman Joel Hennessy says the diocese hasn't decided whether to seek bankruptcy because it doesn't know how many lawsuits it will face.

The Diocese of Winona expects to file for bankruptcy as a result of lawsuits filed by victims of clergy sex abuse, according to a letter that was among thousands of pages of church files released Tuesday.

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The lawsuits are being filed under a law that gave victims of child sexual abuse a three-year window during which to sue over older abuse allegations. Diocese spokesman Joel Hennessy told the station that the diocese hasn't decided whether to seek bankruptcy because it doesn't know how many lawsuits it will face before the window closes in mid-2016.

It's unclear whether Quinn's letter was sent to the Vatican.

The letter was among 2,000 pages of documents released Tuesday by victims' attorney Jeff Anderson, who disclosed the previously confidential files of 14 priests who have been accused of sexual abuse. Anderson obtained the documents as part of a lawsuit by a man who claims he was sexually abused in the late 1970s by a priest who served in the Winona Diocese and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The lawsuit accuses the diocese and archdiocese of creating a public nuisance by keeping information on abusive priests secret. That claim has led to the disclosure of the names of dozens of "credibly accused" priests.