MONTANA
Montana Standard
HELENA — An approved plan to exit bankruptcy doesn’t mean the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena is on solid financial footing just yet, according to Chief Financial Officer Jim Carney.
“It’s going to be a long, slow road to recovery,” he said.
The Diocese of Helena, which oversees more than 60 parishes and 35 missions across western Montana, has been weighed down by debt said to be nearly double its assets since allegations of sexual abuse began to surface years ago. In January 2014, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, making it one of nearly a dozen dioceses to do so over the last decade.
A federal bankruptcy judge approved the diocese’s plan in early March to compensate more than 360 alleged sexual abuse victims.
The diocese paid $2.6 million; its insurance company paid $14.4 million; and the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province, who were also part of the lawsuit, paid $4.45 million.
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