April 15, 2026 Dear Friends, I offer you my prayers and best wishes in this Easter Season. It is encouraging to emerge from our long winter to the new life of spring! It strengthens our faith in the Resurrection to see the promised life of spring with all its beauty. I am writing to update you on our Chapter 11 reorganization case. As you know, all State court lawsuits against the diocese, parishes, schools and other Catholic entities are stayed as a result of the Diocese’s chapter 11 case. As I previously reported to you, we have been attempting to negotiate settlements with the creditors’ committee and our insurers. The bankruptcy judge has ordered that all contested matters, including the Childs Victims Act (CYA) cases, be resolved through mediation. Some progress has been made with some of our insurers. We have settlements in principle with some of our insurers and continue to work to arrive at settlements with our remaining insurers. Since my last update, Judge Radel has appointed a second mediator, retired Judge Melanie L. Cyganowski, to help us in the mediation process. Retired Judge Christopher Sonchi continues to serve as mediator in our case. Since our last update, we have had four sessions with the mediator and the creditors’ committee. We continue to clarify information for the creditors’ committee and their attorneys. Some slight progress is being made, but it is a slow and tedious process. We have more mediation sessions coming up in early May. As I mentioned above, the mediators and our attorneys have negotiated with our insurers, and some progress has been made. The diocese and our attorneys have done our best to keep the talks about settlement moving. We have disclosed tens of thousands of documents to the insurers and creditors’ committee to facilitate the mediation process. The parishes have been represented at the mediation conferences by Jeffery Dove, Esq. and Father Mickey Demo, the head of the parishes’ steering committee. Due to the confidential nature of the mediation process, I cannot give you particulars about the discussions, but I do want to assure you that we are constantly working towards a settlement and hoping for a just outcome for all. I again ask your prayers as we seek to resolve the CVA cases. We are committed to compensating victims of sexual abuse. We need to keep them in our thoughts and prayers. We are also committed to continuing our mission as a diocese and meeting the needs of our people throughout the North Country. Thank you for your prayerful support. May God bless you, I am Faithfully yours in Christ,
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