Minnesota archdiocese sitting on $1.7 billion
MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys have accused a Minnesota archdiocese of sheltering more than $1 billion in assets to avoid big payouts to abuse survivors.
They said the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has some $1.7 billion in assets — far more than the $49 million it lists in a filing this week. In court papers, they accuses the archdiocese of undervaluing assets and tucking money away in corporations to shield it from creditors.
Jeff Anderson, an attorney for hundreds of people claiming sexual abuse by priests, said the church had schemed to defraud creditors and deny fair resolution of claims.
The archdiocese filed bankruptcy in January 2015 as it faced an onslaught of new abuse claims after Minnesota lawmakers opened a three-year window for claims that had previously been barred by a statute of limitations.
— The Associated Press
Pornographer sentenced also abused by priest
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky newspaper reports a man who was abused by a Catholic priest in Louisville as a child has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for using two boys to produce child pornography.
The Courier-Journal reports 47-year-old Michael Mudd, of Bullitt County near Louisville, was sentenced to the 30 years sought by prosecutors.
Mudd pleaded guilty in June to two counts of producing child pornography. His attorney had requested a 15-year sentence, saying Mudd’s case “justifies a degree of mercy not otherwise warranted.”
Mudd says he was molested at age 11 by the Rev. Daniel C. Clark. Clark pleaded guilty in 1988 to abusing Mudd and another boy.
Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell said, that while Mudd’s own abuse was unfortunate, the public still must be protected.
— The Associated Press
French president talks with Al-Azhar imam
PARIS — The French president has met with the grand imam of the prestigious Sunni Muslim center of learning, Al-Azhar, to share views on the fight against extremism.
The presidency said Francois Hollande detailed France’s priorities on the issue and that French authorities welcomed Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib efforts to combat radicalism.
Earlier Tuesday, the Cairo-based grand imam went to the Bataclan concert hall to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks carried out by Islamic extremists that left 130 dead Nov. 13.
A French government plan presented this month includes the creation of de-radicalization facilities in every region by 2017.
El-Tayyib came to Paris to open a Muslim-Catholic conference on East-West relations, after a meeting with Pope Francis on Monday that reopened an important channel for inter-religious dialogue.