How the settlement was reached
December 19, 2015 at 3:32AM
• In 2013, the Legislature passed the Minnesota Child Victims Act. It gives people until May 2016 to file sex abuse lawsuits about incidents that happened years, even decades ago.
• The law prompted a wave of lawsuits against the six Catholic dioceses in Minnesota, as well as other churches, the Boy Scouts of America, and recently the Children's Theatre Company.
• In January 2015, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, saying it would not be able to pay all the claims. That is still in mediation.
• On June 5, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi filed criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese for failing to protect children from an abusive priest. The case specifically names ex-priest Curtis Wehmeyer but Choi said the church had failed to act properly in a number of other cases as well.
• On June 15, Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned.
about the writer
Republicans across the country benefited from favorable tailwinds as President-elect Donald Trump resoundingly defeated Democrat Kamala Harris. But that wasn’t the whole story in Minnesota.
