Diocese Sex Abuse Settlement: Proceedings Nearing As Deadline Looms for Filings

By Seaborn Larson
Great Falls Tribune
July 26, 2017

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/crime/2017/07/26/diocese-sex-abuse-settlement-proceedings-nearing-deadline-looms-filings/509857001/

The window is closing for victims and survivors to file claims of abuse committed by church officials who served under the Great Falls-Billings Diocese.

The diocese earlier this year filed for bankruptcy to begin financing a settlement fund for those reported to be abused by priests, brothers and nuns. More than 70 victims have emerged as alleged victims of abuse, claiming they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused by priests. The timeline of reports so far stretches from the 1940s to 1990s.

"To be considered in part of the settlement in this pool of money, the plains would have to be made by July 31," Molly Howard, an attorney representing about 40 victims in the Great Falls-Billings Diocese case.

Forms for filing abuse claims are available on the Great Falls-Billings Diocese website and will be submitted to bankruptcy court.

Following the claims deadline, parties will return to mediation in Reno during the first week of August before bankruptcy judge Greg Zive. Since the bankruptcy filing, a group of eight victims have voluntarily stepped forward to represent the 70-plus victims as a creditors' committee in the case during mediation with the church regarding the settlement.

In similar cases in the Pacific Northwest, settlements have reached well over $1 million: Helena Diocese settled with more than 300 victims for about $21 million while the Oregon Province of Jesuits settled with about 500 victims for $116 million.

Jim Stang, a California attorney representing the creditors' committee, said its hard to predict the final dollar amount the Great Falls-Billings Diocese settlement could reach.

"It is very hard to compare any of these areas to a predecessor case," Stang told the Tribune. "The insurance is different, the assets are different, the amount of cash in the dioceses are different... These things really stand on their own."

After mediation, which is scheduled to take about a month, bankruptcy court schedules and proceedings will dictate the length of time until the settlement payouts begin. Stang said if the church does not need to sell any property in order to reach the agreed settlement amount, he believes victims could begin receiving payments by early 2018.

"Looking from Sept. 1 to someone holding money in their hand, we're looking at about four months," he said.

The civil suit filed in 2012 alleges the diocese facilitated the abuse of predatory priests by shuttling them from parish to parish to avoid detection. The diocese filed for bankruptcy on March 31, halting the civil suit as the it reorganizes its assets toward the settlement fund.

"On behalf of the entire Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, I express my profound sorrow and sincere apologies to anyone who was abused by a priest, a sister, or a lay Church worker," Bishop Michael Warfel said in a statement published to Facebook on March 31. "No child should experience harm from anyone who served in the Church."

Warfel added that those "credibly accused" of abuse are no longer active in the church and that most of the accused are now dead. He told the Tribune on Wednesday he is not aware of any credible accusations made since the 1990s, after the latest claims made the in the civil case.

The statement also said there would be an additional settlement fund for future victims and unknown victims, although Howard said those "future claims" would likely receive much less than those who received payment from the initial settlement fund.

Contact: slarson@greatfallstribune.com