A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a reorganization plan for the Catholic Diocese of Helena Montana which includes $16.4 million for victims of priest sexual abuse. It is estimated that there are hundreds of claims for the rural diocese dating back to the 1940’s.
According to the Insurance Journal, “The plan approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers in Missoula on Tuesday includes another $4.45 million payment from the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province to settle a lawsuit filed by 45 Native Americans who alleged abuse and sex abuse at the Ursuline Academy in St. Ignatius over the same time period. The plan will now goes to a vote of the creditors, the 362 plaintiffs in two lawsuits against the Diocese and the plaintiffs in the Ursuline lawsuit.”
A few days after this announcement, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced that it would be seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors. The announcement makes the Archdiocese the 12th diocese or archdiocese in the country to announce similar filings.