Bankruptcy Judge Won’t Extend Deadline for Claims Against Archdiocese

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has reaffirmed that victims of clergy sex abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis must file their claims by Monday.

U.S. bankruptcy judge Robert Kressel on Thursday rejected a bid to extend the deadline.

The Aug. 3 deadline was challenged by victims' attorneys, who asked the court to honor a May 2016 deadline — the same filing cutoff for all other abuse victims in Minnesota.

But the Star Tribune reports Kressel reaffirmed his April decision, designed to expedite the archdiocese's reorganization plan.

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January following a wave of clergy abuse lawsuits.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports as of late Wednesday, more than 400 creditors had filed claims. Abuse victims accounted for more than 250 of them.