Archdiocese in Minnesota Plans to Settle with Abuse Victims for $210 Million

By Jacey Fortin
New York Times
May 31, 2018

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/us/catholic-abuse-settlement-minnesota.html

Jim Keenan, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, after a settlement was announced on Thursday between victims and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Jeff Anderson, left, a lawyer representing the victims, said he expected the settlement to be approved.

In one of the biggest settlements of its kind, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis plans to establish a $210 million trust fund for hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse, the archbishop announced on Thursday.

The plan is the result of a yearslong battle and arduous negotiations in one of the country’s most high-profile cases involving abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.

If approved, the settlement will be the largest ever for a sex abuse case involving an archdiocese that has filed for bankruptcy protection and the second largest over all, said Terry McKiernan, co-director and president of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks clergy sex abuse cases. (According to the website, the largest settlement, $660 million, was reached by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and 508 survivors in 2007.)

“Survivors are getting, on average, substantial settlements for what they suffered, and that’s really important,” Mr. McKiernan said of the Minnesota case.

The settlement is pending approval from a judge and 450 survivors. Their lawyer, Jeff Anderson, said he expected them to vote in its favor.

He said the case could be a model for other clergy sex abuse cases because it forced the church to be more transparent than usual. “That heat and that light has been put on them through the courage of the many, many survivors who found their voice and took action,” he added.

Jim Keenan, one of the abuse survivors, told reporters on Thursday that others should not be afraid to speak up.

“Even when you’re kneeling, even when you’re stumbling, you’ve got the legs to stand up and hear your voice,” he said. “Speak your truth, because what happens is you make change, and you make the world different, and I do believe we have made the world safer.”

In a news conference on Thursday, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said the settlement “avoids further litigation and expense, and that allows the local church to carry on with its mission of spreading and living the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

He also thanked the survivors who told their stories. “I recognize that the abuse stole so much from you, your childhood, your innocence, your safety, your ability to trust, and in many cases, your faith,” he said.

“The church let you down,” he added. “I’m very sorry.”

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is among more than a dozen Roman Catholic dioceses to have declared bankruptcy in response to lawsuits over allegations of sexual abuse. The St. Paul archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2015, two years after the Minnesota Legislature passed the Child Victims Act, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases, allowing hundreds of victims of past abuse to file suit.

“What just happened in the Twin Cities might up the ante, both for the church, because they’re seeing what the price tag is, and for survivors who are saying, ‘Wow, with statute of limitations reform, we’re going to be able to do something here,’” Mr. McKiernan said.

The archdiocese has been under scrutiny for years for mishandling allegations of sexual abuse by its clergy. The previous archbishop, John C. Nienstedt, and an auxiliary bishop, Lee A. Piche, resigned in 2015 after local prosecutors brought cases accusing the church of failing to prevent serial abuse by a priest in the archdiocese.

A whistle-blower, the former chancellor in the archdiocese, had accused Archbishop Nienstedt of covering up abusive priests and keeping them in ministry for years.