MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star-Tribune
June 2, 2018
By Jean Hopfensperger
Twin Cities churches will bear $13M of the $210M settlement for sex abuse.
Parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Minneapolis are finding a letter in their church bulletins this weekend that explains the parish’s decision to contribute to an unexpected fund — the archdiocese’s long-in-the-making financial settlement with clergy sex abuse victims.
On Thursday, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced that it had reached a $210 million settlement for about 450 victims — the largest of its kind nationwide. Of that, roughly $13 million is to be paid by parishes.
Up to half of the archdiocese’s 187 churches are donating or considering doing so. They include parishes where children were abused as well as those where there were no incidents, such as Our Lady of Lourdes.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said the Rev. Daniel Griffith, the parish’s priest. “We’re all part of the archdiocese, and we all need to be part of the solution.”
Many Twin Cities Catholics walked into church this weekend grateful that the archdiocese had finally reached an agreement with abuse victims but uncertain about what it means for their own parishes.
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