Lawyers in the RC Church bankruptcy have settled on what to do with the millions raised through the Goulds Chase the Ace fundraiser five years ago.
The deal between St. Kevin’s Parish and creditors means the parish will get to keep its property, including the church, parish hall and cemetery, as well as some of the $5.5 million in Chase the Ace money.
The exact amount cannot be reported yet, but VOCM News has learned it is substantial, and will allow the parish to continue as a private entity outside operational control of the St. John’s Archdiocese.
Both the settlement and situation are unique and unprecedented in the courts and the church, according to the lawyer for St. Kevin’s parish, Kyle Rees, who has set up a separate corporation to run the new privately-owned parish
The deal comes as the Church continues to the sell off property throughout the Archdiocese in order to settle more than a $100 million in sex abuse claims linked to the former Mount Cashel Orphanage.
Rees noted it was a deal St. Kevin’s was able to swing only because of the Chase the Ace money, adding without that the parish would’ve been “annihilated.”
The matter will be back in Supreme Court on Friday for approval.
All church properties remain on the block, including the Basilica, with some already closing and others hanging by a thread as the process continues to liquidate assets to settle claims.
