The 2018 Attorneys of the Year were chosen for such attributes as leadership, involvement in major cases, excellence in corporate or transactional services, and public service.
“I hope this resolution brings some measure of justice to you,” Archbishop Hebda said to survivors. “Yet, I know that no amount of money will make up for the horrors you experienced and the far-too-frequent failures by priests and bishops — inexcusable failures that went on for way too long."
The progress in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy reorganization, which is expected to be settled in a matter of months, will allow the archdiocese to move ahead with restorative justice efforts with survivors outlined in the settlement agreement, Tim O'Malley said.
There has been much discussion concerning the settlement reached in the reorganization of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as a corporate entity. As Catholics, we know that the “archdiocese” is a reality much greater than the definitions of civil law. Yet, at every level of the Church, there is the question, “Who pays?”
“We’re all part of the same Church. We’re all part of the same body of Christ,” Father Livingston said of the St. Paul in Ham Lake’s decision to contribute to the settlement.
The documents filed June 28 confirmed about $40 million of the fund will come from additional cash contributions from the archdiocese and parishes and includes cash from the sale of its properties, parishes contributions and a benefits fund.
"I hope all abuse survivors, reassured by the court’s decision, will soon be able to choose the path of settlement and closure on this aspect of their quest for justice and healing," said Thomas Abood, chairman of the archdiocese's Reorganization Task Force.
“Despite commentary from others last week, the archdiocese never sought to block the Crosiers’ plan of reorganization or its settlement with victims/survivors, and doing so would not have benefited the Archdiocese in any way,” said Thomas Abood, chair of the archdiocese’s Reorganization Task Force, in a March 22 statement.
“The archdiocese filed its objection in the related Crosier matter to ensure the preservation of insurance rights for the benefit of the victim creditors in its case," Thomas Abood said. "The archdiocese fully expects that its filing, as well as the similar filing by the Crosiers in the Archdiocese case, will be resolved in a way that does not delay confirmation of a plan in either case.”
The Diocese of St. Cloud is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, Bishop Donald Kettler announced Feb. 28 at a meeting in Albany with pastors and trustees from the diocese’s 131 parishes.
