Helena Diocese, Alleged Sexual Abuse Victims Agree to Mediation

By Matt Volz
The Missoulian
March 19, 2012

missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/helena-diocese-alleged-sexual-abuse-victims-agree-to-mediation/article_c664abb0-720a-11e1-a889-001871e3ce6c.html

HELENA – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena has pledged to open its books and attempt to use a mediator to settle claims that priests and nuns sexually abused about 250 people as children in western Montana.

Attorneys for the diocese and for the plaintiffs in the two lawsuits asked District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock of Helena last week to temporarily halt court proceedings as they begin the process.

The sides plan to meet next month to set up interviews of each alleged victim to determine the validity of claims.

The diocese also has said it would open its financial records and share its files on accused priests with the plaintiffs' attorneys.

Timothy Kosnoff, lead plaintiffs' attorney in one of the lawsuits, called the diocese's pledge of transparency unprecedented in his experience litigating sex-abuse lawsuits.

"This is completely unexpected. We were girding for a long, arduous fight," he said. "No other bishop that I'm aware of that faces this many claims has taken this approach."

Diocese spokeswoman Renee St. Martin Wizeman acknowledged the transparency pledge is "a fairly atypical approach" compared with past legal fights involving the Catholic church. But that, and the decision to pursue mediation instead of a court battle, was how Bishop George Thomas wanted it, she said.

"This is Bishop Thomas' choice and decision to allow for this kind of transparency," St. Martin Wizeman said. "The bishop is very much interested in providing pastoral care for alleged victims. Part of that is mediation."

Blaine Tamaki, the plaintiffs' attorney in the second lawsuit, was more cautious about whether the diocese would meet its pledge.

"They have promised financial transparency, and time will tell whether they will meet their promise," Tamaki said.

The diocese also said the bishop has offered to meet with alleged victims individually.

Kosnoff represents about 170 alleged victims who claim they were abused by clergy members in western Montana decades ago when they were children. They claim the diocese knew or should have known about the abuse, but instead of stopping it, diocese officials covered it up.

Tamaki represents nearly 80 alleged Native American victims who are making similar claims. Sherlock is expected to combine the two cases.

Diocese officials have previously said the accused priests and nuns were not part of the diocese but were members of other orders that were assigned to the schools where much of the alleged abuse took place. Most of the accused clergy are believed to be dead.

Kosnoff and Tamaki said the sides will likely meet with a mediator in the fall, after the interviews are completed. A settlement could be reached by the end of the year in a best-case scenario, though both attorneys said any deal is a long way off.

"It's too early to tell whether there will be any success because mediation requires both sides to agree, and neither side is signaling what they consider fair," Tamaki said.

Kosnoff also represents 10 alleged sex-abuse victims in a separate lawsuit filed in February against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings. That diocese has not yet filed a response to the claims in that lawsuit, Kosnoff said.