The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, facing an unprecedented wave of clergy abuse lawsuits, said Thursday that it is weighing whether to declare bankruptcy.
A bankruptcy filing would give a federal judge control over the church’s finances, and could affect how much money would be paid to the victims of clergy sex abuse.
In making the announcement, the church released a financial report that reflected how it is spending money addressing the child abuse lawsuits. In its most recent fiscal year, for example, the archdiocese said it spent $4.2 million to hire outside professionals to investigate its own handling of abuse charges over the years and to explore its financial options.
The 2014 finances do not reflect any payments to victims. With 18 cases pending and more likely to follow, the archdiocese said total claims would likely outstrip the $5.3 million it has set aside to compensate victims.
“The road ahead offers ‘trouble’ of its own,” wrote Archbishop John Nienstedt in his column in the Catholic Spirit newspaper Thursday. “We have no idea how many more legal claims may be made against us.”
No final decision has been made about filing for bankruptcy, said Chief Financial Officer Tom Mertens, adding that such a move would not be an attempt to avoid paying abuse victims.
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