Alleged victims added to Mont. church abuse suit

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — New claims of sexual abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic clergy are coming from the Blackfeet Indian reservation, bringing to at least 280 the total number of plaintiffs in two lawsuits seeking damages from the diocese that oversees western Montana.

One lawsuit alone has 200 plaintiffs after eight more were added Monday. Many are Native Americans who claim they were abused as children at schools, in orphanages, in church or in their homes.