BILLINGS (MT)
KTVQ
December 19, 2017
By Erik Olson
More than $70 million in assets at Catholic parishes in Eastern Montana, including in Billings, could be at stake as part of the regional diocese’s bankruptcy amid claims of sexual assault stemming back to the 1950s.
Survivors of sexual assault at the hands of priests and nuns dating back to the 1950s say the Great Falls-based diocese has understated its total assets by not including properties held in local parishes, according to documents filed Monday in federal bankruptcy court in Butte.
The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, a move that church officials said would help develop a compensation fund for victims and set aside money for more who come forward.
“The resolution of this litigation is critical to (the diocese) … because it will determine the magnitude of distributions to its creditors, including the survivors of the childhood sex abuse enabled by (the diocese) or whether (the diocese) can continue to avoid being held accountable to the survivors,” attorneys for the survivors wrote.
A total of 86 victims are involved, according to an October story by the Great Falls Tribune. The abuse cases took place over decades, mostly in rural and reservation parishes.
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