The Diocese of Crookston has reached a $5 million settlement with 15 people who, as children, were sexually abused by priests.
The settlement, announced Wednesday, also requires the diocese to make public the names of the offending priests and their previously undisclosed files at a future date.
The settlement allows the diocese to move forward without filing for bankruptcy, which other dioceses in the state have done in the wake of similar lawsuits.
"The survivors [of abuse] see this as a step toward better child protection in the Crookston diocese," said Mike Finnegan, one of the St. Paul attorneys representing the victims. "The most important thing is to get the names and the files out, and the settlement does that."
Bishop Michael Hoeppner of the Crookston diocese said he was grateful that the settlement had been reached and that the diocese can now move forward with its mission.
"To all victims and survivors of sexual abuse by clergy, as the Bishop of Crookston, I apologize for the harm done to you by those entrusted with your spiritual care," Hoeppner wrote in a statement. "Although you can never be fully compensated for your suffering, we are thankful this litigation has now come to a good end and are hopeful this settlement offers you justice and will be helpful for healing."
The Crookston settlement leaves just two of Minnesota's six dioceses — the Winona and St. Cloud dioceses — without settlements on their abuse lawsuits, sparked by the 2013 Minnesota Child Victims Act, which temporarily removed the statue of limitations on abuse cases.
The clergy named in the Crookston abuse lawsuits include the Reverends James Bernauer, James Porter, Patrick Sullivan, Stanley Bourassa, James Vincent Fitzgerald and Roger Grundhaus.
Most of the $5 million settlement was paid by the diocese's insurance carriers, said Hoeppner.
The diocese contributed $1.5 million, primarily from the sale of its Camp Corbett in Becker County and the sale of Holy Spirit Newman Center in Bemidji.
Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511
