Judge confirms plan settling clergy sex-abuse claims

BILLINGS (AP) – A federal judge has confirmed a bankruptcy reorganization plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena that calls for almost $20 million in payments to hundreds of victims of clergy sex abuse.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers approved the plan during a Wednesday court hearing in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Abuse claims from more than 360 victims will now go through an adjudication process to determine final payment amounts.

Each will receive a minimum of $2,500, and a trust will be established for victims who come forward in the future.

The abuse began in the 1930s and continued through the 1970s, mostly at the Ursuline Academy and the St. Ignatius Mission in St. Ignatius, Montana. .

The average age of victims at the time of abuse was 10 years old.