By Elizabeth Mohr

St. Paul Pioneer Press

Days into the bankruptcy proceedings for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a federal bankruptcy judge has ordered the parties to mediation.

Judge Robert Kressel said at a hearing Tuesday in Minneapolis that he wanted to get the case moving and avoid high costs.

“The history, other than with one notable exception, is these cases ­— and by these I mean diocesan cases ­— end up in a settlement,” Kressel said. “I’m hopeful and confident that’s going to happen here.

“But the question becomes: Is that three or four years from now, with $17 million in fees, or is it six months from now, with a fraction of that? I assume that’s a goal we all share.”

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday, a move it said was the best option to address all claims of sexual abuse at once “fairly and with finality.”

Church officials had said they were considering bankruptcy after news of a $9.1 million operating deficit for fiscal year 2014 and amid expectations of more lawsuits over alleged clergy sexual abuse — more than two dozen have been filed, and the church has received notice of at least 100 more claims.

Bankruptcy protection puts current lawsuits against the archdiocese on hold, but allows additional victims to file claims while the bankruptcy case is active.