Diocese of Helena Files Reorganization Plan

By Alexander Deedy
Independent Record
December 15, 2014

http://helenair.com/news/local/diocese-of-helena-files-reorganization-plan/article_d9663ed8-62d8-5900-b5c2-b33fd3da3277.html

Officials with the Diocese of Helena, whose offices are located next to the Cathedral of St. Helena, think an agreement can be reached that will allow the church to be financially viable.

The Diocese of Helena filed information on Friday detailing its financial situation and a reorganization plan to resolve its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 31, 2014 as part of a $15 million settlement to victims who said some diocese clergy had sexually abused them decades ago.

The plan was submitted in collaboration with the Unsecured Creditors Committee, which represents the hundreds of people who have filed those claims of abuse.

Dan Bartleson, spokesman for the diocese, said it’s good for the diocese to have these steps and the submission of a disclosure statement is a positive move.

The disclosure statement detailing the diocese’s financial situation is intended to give creditors enough information so they can be informed when deciding if the reorganization plan will be sufficient or not.

The disclosure statement must be approved by the bankruptcy court before the plan for reorganization can be voted on.

The United States Bankruptcy Court is scheduled to take action on the disclosure statement on Jan. 14, 2015, in the Federal Courthouse in Missoula, according to a press release from the diocese.

The diocese and creditors took a few months longer to submit the reorganization plan than their original goal of fall 2014.

“It isn’t a result of anything negative, everyone has to agree as we take each step so it has to take a little longer,” Bartleson said.

Bartleson declined to comment on the details of the statement and plan, stating that the diocese must be careful to follow bankruptcy code and not “seek or solicit approval of the plan” before a ruling.