An "urgent" fundraising plea features an image of two schoolchildren and describes a part of their reservation as being a "community in crisis." Image from St. Labre Indian School
Montana newspaper isn't happy with the Catholic Church or the Northern Cheyenne Tribe over their handling of an $11 million settlement involving the St. Labre Indian School:
Two wrongs have made nothing right in the hushed settlement between the Northern Cheyenne tribe and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings. On Thursday, documents obtained by The Billings Gazette revealed the Diocese, which covers the eastern part of the state, including Billings, has agreed to shell out $11 million to settle claims that the church had exploited the poverty status of the poor tribal school in order to benefit from fundraising. Sadly, these claims seem pretty tame when compared to much of the contemporary news about lawsuits involving the church. Then again, Jesus Christ himself said in the gospel of Matthew, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” So unto the Indian schoolchildren at St. Labre, the church appears to have exploited their story to line its own coffers.Get the Story:
Editorial:Nothing is right about the St. Labre settlement (The Billings Gazette 8/16) Montana Supreme Court Decision:
Northern Cheyenne Tribe v. Roman Catholic Church (February 5, 2013) Related Stories:
Northern Cheyenne Tribe won't talk about $11M settlement (8/14)
Native Sun News: Northern Cheyenne Tribe mum on settlement (8/12)
Clara Caufield: Northern Cheyenne Tribe keeps people in dark (07/31)
Northern Cheyenne Tribe reaches settlement with Catholic school (1/19)
Northern Cheyenne Tribe wins lawsuit against Catholic school (2/7)
Northern Cheyenne Tribe sues for share of school donations (5/2)
Northern Cheyenne Tribe's lawsuit questioned (03/15)
Northern Cheyenne Tribe sues church and school (3/14)
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