The law office of Jeff Anderson and Associates released the names on Feb. 11 of 17 more clergy members in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis accused of sexual abuse or misconduct.
The new allegations, in addition to some previous ones, will not be heard as lawsuits in state court but are instead classified as notice of claims because the archdiocese declared bankruptcy in January. A court of bankruptcy will review the claims, determine if they are valid and resolve the judgement through monetary damage awards.
Charles Reid, a St. Thomas law professor with a license in Canon Law, said the release of these new names is unlikely to have a significant impact on the long-term investigation.
“We’ve had over 100 names released, and this is just 17 more,” Reid said. “Relative to the number of names released, it’s not large. These names will not make a big difference in the overall picture.”
According to an official statement from Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the priests on the list are deceased, permanently out of public ministry, on leave from ministry or on restricted ministry while the claim is being investigated. Several of the names with “substantiated” claims were also posted on the archdiocese website.
Even though there is not a possibility of suing the church due to the bankruptcy filing, victims are still able to gain relief through the bankruptcy court, according to Reid.
“They will not be deprived of recovery,” Reid said. “They might not recover as much as they would have otherwise, but they will not be deprived of recovery. The relief will come out of the pool of assets that will be set aside for recovery.”
Given the bankruptcy and the push toward mediation, Reid said activity around the church investigation might quiet down.
“At this point, we’re going to fall into a period of quiet because the case has been ordered mediation,” Reid said. “That’s where the judge wants to push them, to … a global settlement that resolves everything. It’s done quietly, done out of the glare of spotlights and done between parties with a minimum of public exposure and involvement.”
Reid said it’s possible a mediation deal might be reached in a year, given the speed of the agreement to negotiate. Although the archdiocese cannot be sued, Reid said it’s also possible that if enough evidence is compiled, individual parishes could be sued as separate entities.
“I think it’s certainly possible,” Reid said. “It is in the victim’s interest to recover, and if that’s what you need to do to recover, we may see that avenue taken. It’s too early to say that will happen, but it could happen.”
Simeon Lancaster can be reached at lanc4637@stthomas.edu.