NEW ULM (MN)
Associated Press
March 10, 2020
A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a $34 million settlement between the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota and nearly 100 people who say they were sexually abused by priests and others.
Bishop John LeVoir apologized to sexual abuse survivors during the hearing, where U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel gave final approval to the settlement. Several survivors of clergy sexual abuse testified tearfully at the hearing, the Star Tribune reported.
“I apologize again on behalf of the church to all who have been harmed by clergy sexual abuse,” LeVoir said.
The diocese serving Catholics in southern and west-central Minnesota also agreed to implement 17 child protection protocols.
Attorney Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, who represents many of the survivors, told The Associated Press that both the settlement and the hearing were “powerful.”
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