ROCHESTER, Minn. – More suits against the Winona-Rochester Catholic Diocese have been filed alleging sexual abuse of young boys by priests as far back as the the 1970s. These are stray cases beyond the original settlement for $28 million that sent the diocese into bankruptcy. A St. Paul attorney who represented clients in the original lawsuits, Jeff Anderson, is handling the new actions. These clients, all adult men, were not compensated in the original settlement because the Diocese insurance company, U.S. Fire, declined to accept responsibility Anderson said. The priests in the new actions:
> Joseph Cashman, how deceased.
> Damien Seminary, now deceased.
> Leland Smith.
Each victim is asking for at least $50,000. Anderson told television station KAAL tat his goal, as in past cases , is to assure tyat victims are compensated: “I draw from the pain and the sorrow and the anguish of the survivors, and appreciation for the magnitude of what sexual trauma does.” Anderson said he couldn’t say even more lawsuits will follow – or how long he expects resolution to take.
Earlier: New case charges sex abuse by priest
Anderson. Attorney for sex abuse victims for 30 years.
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Bishop Robert Barron authorizre this response to news media inquiries: “This litigation was expected and contemplated in the Diocesan bankruptcy case. The Diocese of Winona-Rochester has completed its financial obligations resulting from bankruptcy and is committed to ensuring a safe environment for staff and all of those entrusted to its care. We cannot comment further.”