# Chapter 11 *Federal bankruptcy reorganization filing by the Diocese of St. Cloud, June 15, 2020.* **Chapter 11**, in this record, is the federal bankruptcy reorganization filing made by the [[Diocese of St. Cloud]] in [[Minnesota]] on June 15, 2020.[^1] A [[federal bankruptcy court]] approved the diocese's plan on December 4, 2020, against 74 claims.[^2] The resolution totaled $22.5 million and covered more than seventy suits brought by abuse survivors. Both the [[Star Tribune]] and Anderson Advocates reported those figures.[^3][^4] The diocese's own announcement presented the filing as a Chapter 11 reorganization.[^1] The documented outputs set beside that announcement are these: - the $22.5 million sum;[^3] - the 74 claims against which the plan was approved;[^2] - a credibly-accused list that numbered 33 clergy when the diocese first released it in January 2014;[^5] - a count of 42 by the time of the 2020 bankruptcy framework, as reported by Anderson Advocates.[^4] The project's at-issue record states that none of the sum was moved by a Stearns County prosecution.[^6] The record in this pack does not establish why the matter proceeded in bankruptcy. ## Who The Diocese of St. Cloud was the debtor in the Chapter 11 case.[^1] The other parties were the abuse survivors who brought more than seventy suits[^3] and the claimants whose 74 claims the approved plan addressed.[^2] On January 3, 2014, the Star Tribune reported the diocese's first list of credibly accused clergy.[^5] ## What The diocese filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. Its announcement of the filing is dated June 15, 2020.[^1] A framework agreement with abuse survivors set a $22.5 million resolution of more than seventy suits, according to the Star Tribune and Anderson Advocates.[^3][^4] The bankruptcy court approved a plan to settle the abuse claims on December 4, 2020.[^2] ## When - January 3, 2014: the Star Tribune reported the diocese's first credibly-accused list, which named 33 clergy.[^5] - June 15, 2020: the diocese filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.[^1] - December 4, 2020: the plan was approved against 74 claims, as reported by MPR News.[^2] ## Where The case proceeded in federal bankruptcy court rather than through a state criminal prosecution.[^2][^6] ## Why According to a 2021 Bishop Accountability article, the Minnesota Child Victims Act of 2013 opened a three-year retroactive civil window.[^7] The pack does not show who enacted the act, by party, and it does not state the act's connection to the suits in full. The record shows the sequence of events. It does not establish the diocese's reasons for filing in bankruptcy. ## How much - Settlement sum: $22.5 million.[^3][^4] ## How many - Suits resolved: more than seventy.[^3][^4] - Claims against which the plan was approved: 74.[^2] - Credibly accused clergy on the diocese's first list (January 2014): 33.[^5] - Count by the 2020 bankruptcy framework: 42, as reported by Anderson Advocates.[^4] ## In the at-issue record At-issue entry AI-Stearns-027 appears in the Stearns package under the section *The Jurisdiction Gap & the Unrecorded Record Edition*.[^6] The entry restates the case's figures: - $22.5 million; - more than seventy suits; - the June 15, 2020 filing; - the December 4, 2020 plan approval against 74 claims. It also states that not one dollar of the sum was moved by a Stearns County prosecution.[^6] The entry names a May 2026 White House release as its anchor.[^6] The pack carries no passage from that release, and this article does not attribute the entry's statements to it. ## Notes [^1]: Diocese of St. Cloud, *June 15, 2020: Diocese Files for Chapter 11 Reorganization* (June 15, 2020) — the diocese's own announcement of its Chapter 11 reorganization filing. https://stcdio.org/2020/06/15/june-15-2020-diocese-files-for-chapter-11-reorganization/ [^2]: MPR News, *St. Cloud Diocese Bankruptcy Plan Approved to Settle Abuse Claims* (December 4, 2020) — bankruptcy plan approved against 74 claims. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/12/04/st-cloud-diocese-bankruptcy-plan-approved-to-settle-abuse-claims [^3]: Star Tribune, *St. Cloud Diocese to File for Bankruptcy, Pay $22.5 Million to Abuse Survivors* (2020) — the $22.5 million framework resolving more than seventy suits. https://www.startribune.com/st-cloud-diocese-to-file-for-bankruptcy-pay-22-5-million-to-abuse-survivors/570776642 [^4]: Anderson Advocates, *Diocese of St. Cloud Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; Framework Established for $22.5M Agreement with Abuse Survivors* (undated) — the $22.5 million framework resolving more than seventy suits; count of 42 by the 2020 bankruptcy framework. https://www.andersonadvocates.com/news/diocese-of-st-cloud-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-framework-established-for-22-5m-agreement-with-abuse-survivors/ [^5]: Star Tribune, *St. Cloud Diocese Reveals Names of Priests Accused of Abusing Children* (January 3, 2014) — the diocese's first credibly-accused list, 33 clergy. https://www.startribune.com/st-cloud-diocese-reveals-names-of-priests-accused-of-abusing-children/238658801 [^6]: The White House, *Trump Administration's Full-Scale War on Fraud* (May 2026) — cited as the anchor of at-issue entry AI-Stearns-027; the pack carries no passage from this release. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/05/trump-administrations-full-scale-war-on-fraud/ [^7]: Bishop Accountability, *Is This the Year Minnesota Gets Rid of the Statute of Limitations on Sexual Assault?* (April 2021) — the Minnesota Child Victims Act's 2013 three-year retroactive civil window. https://www.bishop-accountability.org/2021/04/is-this-the-year-minnesota-gets-rid-of-the-statute-of-limitations-on-sexual-assault/