# Diocese of St. Cloud *Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota that filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on June 15, 2020* The Diocese of St. Cloud is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in [[Minnesota]]. Wikipedia lists it under the title *Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud*.[^1] The diocese's website carries a list of clergy it identifies as having likely abused minors; the page's address is dated November 12, 2018.[^2] The website also carries an announcement, dated June 15, 2020, that the diocese filed for [[Chapter 11]] reorganization that day.[^3] Five entries in the project's at-issue catalogue name the diocese.[^6] The catalogue sets the diocese's own disclosures beside court and bankruptcy outputs. The diocese published the names of credibly accused clergy in 2014. A Stearns County District Court later allowed a claim to proceed on the allegation that the diocese had not released the related files.[^6] The diocese's published count of accused clergy rose from 33 to 42 between January 2014 and the 2020 bankruptcy.[^7] Its financial resolution, $22.5 million against 74 claims, came through a [[federal bankruptcy court]].[^3][^8] The catalogue located no [[Minnesota Attorney General]] investigation of the diocese's records custody.[^9] The bankruptcy case number could not be confirmed against a primary court source, so this article does not print one.[^10] ## Who The Diocese of St. Cloud is the subject organization. It is the author of the published list of clergy on its website.[^2] It is also the party that announced its own Chapter 11 filing on June 15, 2020.[^3] A motion for authorization to file portions of documents under seal, designated Dkt. 12, was filed on the same date and is posted on the diocese's website.[^4] An organization named Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud appears in a resource directory on the State of Minnesota's mn.gov site.[^5] [[St. John's Abbey]] is named alongside the diocese in the catalogue's negative finding on Attorney General investigations.[^9] ## When - **2014:** the diocese publishes the names of credibly accused clergy.[^6] The list stands at 33 names in January 2014.[^7] - **November 12, 2018:** this is the date in the address of the diocese's list page.[^2] - **June 15, 2020:** the diocese files for Chapter 11 reorganization and announces the filing.[^3][^8] The Dkt. 12 motion to file portions of documents under seal carries the same filing date.[^4] - **December 4, 2020:** the reorganization plan is approved against 74 claims.[^8] - **By the 2020 bankruptcy framework:** the diocese's list stands at 42 names.[^7] ## How much The catalogue reports a resolution of $22.5 million through the federal bankruptcy court. It cites MPR News, the Star Tribune and the diocese's own site as sources.[^8] The entry records that the resolution came through the bankruptcy proceeding rather than through any Stearns County prosecution.[^8] The diocese's announcement establishes the June 15, 2020 filing date. It does not, as cited here, establish the dollar figure.[^3] ## How many As of January 2014, the diocese's list of credibly accused clergy carried 33 names. By the 2020 bankruptcy framework it carried 42, a rise of nine names over six years in the institution's own count.[^7] The catalogue reports more than seventy suits against the diocese. It also reports that the plan approved on December 4, 2020 resolved 74 claims.[^8] ## In the at-issue record - **Names published, files at issue.** The diocese published the names of credibly accused clergy in 2014. A Stearns County District Court then allowed a claim to proceed on the allegation that the diocese "has not released files or documents pertaining to those priests or their patterns of grooming and abuse."[^6] The record shows the allegation and the ruling allowing it to proceed. It does not establish the claim's outcome.[^6] - **A moving published total.** The diocese's own count of accused clergy went from 33 in January 2014 to 42 by 2020.[^7] The record does not establish why the total changed. It also does not establish whether every addition was a name the diocese had held before publishing it.[^7] - **Financial resolution in federal court.** The diocese filed under Chapter 11 on June 15, 2020.[^3] The plan was approved on December 4, 2020 against 74 claims, with $22.5 million and more than seventy suits reported.[^8] - **No state investigation located.** The catalogue states that no Minnesota Attorney General investigation of the diocese's or St. John's Abbey's records custody was located. It notes that attorneys general in other states have produced diocesan investigation reports. It also records that the Stearns County clergy record was resolved by private plaintiffs and a bankruptcy trustee.[^9] This is the project's negative finding. It is not a statement by the Attorney General's Office.[^9] - **Docket unverified.** The bankruptcy case number could not be confirmed against a primary court source. The only citation located came from a third-party aggregator, in a format the catalogue describes as atypical for the District of Minnesota.[^10] The catalogue pairs these entries with federal documents. The first is a March 2025 presidential action posted by the White House on eliminating information silos.[^6][^7][^10] The second is a March 2026 presidential action establishing a task force to eliminate fraud.[^9] The third is a May 2026 White House release on the administration's campaign against fraud.[^8] Those documents are the project's comparison points. They are not sources for the facts about the diocese. ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud* (no cached revision in the pack) — the article title under which the diocese is listed; secondary reference only. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Saint_Cloud [^2]: Diocese of St. Cloud, *List of clergy* (web page; address dated November 12, 2018) — the diocese's published list of clergy it identifies as likely to have abused minors. https://stcdio.org/2018/11/12/list-clergy-likely-abused-minors/ [^3]: Diocese of St. Cloud, *June 15, 2020 filing announcement* (June 15, 2020) — the diocese's announcement that it filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on that date. https://stcdio.org/2020/06/15/june-15-2020-diocese-files-for-chapter-11-reorganization/ [^4]: Diocese of St. Cloud (filer), *Motion for Authorization to File Portions of Documents Under Seal*, Dkt. 12 (filed June 15, 2020) — the motion, its docket entry number and its filing date. https://stcdio.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DSC-Dkt-12-Motion-for-Authorization-to-File-Portions-of-Documents-Under-Seal-filed-6.15.20.pdf [^5]: State of Minnesota (mn.gov), *Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud* (resource directory listing; undated) — the listing of the organization on a State site. https://mn.gov/adresources/search/a4964c19-77e9-5317-a2c0-dcacfd35b30d/ [^6]: Minnesota wiki at-issue catalogue, *Entry AI-Stearns-008* (from RESEARCH_Wetterling_Diocese.md ¶35–39; sources andersonadvocates.com, startribune.com) — the 2014 publication of names, the Stearns County District Court ruling and the quoted allegation. The entry is paired with the White House presidential action on information silos (March 2025), linked here; that document is not a source for the diocese facts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^7]: Minnesota wiki at-issue catalogue, *Entry AI-Stearns-026* (from RESEARCH_Wetterling_Diocese.md ¶35–37; sources andersonadvocates.com, startribune.com) — the list count of 33 in January 2014 and 42 by the 2020 bankruptcy framework. Paired document linked; not a source for the counts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^8]: Minnesota wiki at-issue catalogue, *Entry AI-Stearns-027* (from RESEARCH_Wetterling_Diocese.md ¶42–45; sources mprnews.org, startribune.com, stcdio.org) — the $22.5 million figure, more than seventy suits, the June 15, 2020 filing, and the December 4, 2020 plan approval against 74 claims. The entry is paired with the White House release on the administration's campaign against fraud (May 2026), linked here; that release is not a source for these figures. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^9]: Minnesota wiki at-issue catalogue, *Entry AI-Stearns-074* (from RESEARCH_Wetterling_Diocese.md ¶54; source note, ag.state.mn.us) — negative finding that no Minnesota Attorney General investigation of the diocese's or St. John's Abbey's records custody was located. The entry is paired with the presidential action establishing a task force to eliminate fraud (March 2026), linked here; that document is not a source for the finding. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^10]: Minnesota wiki at-issue catalogue, *Entry AI-Stearns-075* (from RESEARCH_Wetterling_Diocese.md ¶44, ¶60; source stcdio.org) — the bankruptcy case number is unconfirmed against a primary court source. Paired document linked; not a source for the docket finding. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/