MONTANA
National Catholic Reporter

Dan Morris-Young | Mar. 20, 2015

In what U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Terry L. Myers called a “singular achievement,” a bankruptcy and reorganization plan for the Helena, Mont., diocese reached via mediation and negotiation rather than protracted litigation has been approved.

It will provide $21 million to compensate more than 360 sexual abuse claimants. Distributions averaging about $40,000 per claimant are scheduled to begin in April, attorneys for the diocese said.

During the three and a half years since the original lawsuit was filed, fewer than three hours were actually spent in court, according to lawyers involved in the case.

Approved by Myers on March 4 at proceedings in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the settlement officially went into effect Thursday following a mandatory two-week waiting period for potential appeals.

The plan, which also includes the restructuring of about $17 million in internal diocesan debt, received “nearly…