Property owned by a US Roman Catholic archdiocese can be used as assets in abuse claim cases, a court has ruled.
Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris ruled the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, not its parishes owns church assets.
The decision has dealt a major blow to the archdiocese’s efforts to protect church property from claims filed by alleged victims of priest sex abuse.
It was the first archdiocese in the US to take such action, which resulted in the suspension of the start of a civil trial of a priest accused of molesting more than 50 boys.
She also dismissed the archdiocese’s claim that it should be treated under church law, rather than federal law.
American churches know they can count on our politicians to continue their tax-exempt status. I hadn’t realized there was some sort of Christian Shari’a our courts were supposed to obey!
I work at a Catholic hospital (affiliated not owned) and as such get to read a lot of catholic news material. I got the impression that they expected to lose this.
The problem I have with these kind of lawsuits is that it creates secondary victims… the innocent church members who donated the funds and sweat equity to build a diocese.
Doesn’t the church hold liability insurance for it’s priests? If churches don’t they sure should. Although I imagine that premiums must be pretty high these days!
Doesn’t the church hold liability insurance for it’s priests?
I think they do, but the insurance companies will only pay if it is for the actions of a “rogue” priest, acting idependently.
These suits are claiming the archdiocese knew what was going on, with more than one priest, and kept sweeping it under the rug.
Although I imagine that premiums must be pretty high these days!
Fire insurance rates for my home depended on how close the nearest fire department is, how close the nearest fire hydrant is, and whether my fireplace was wood-burning or gas.
Flood insurance for my house depended on whether it was situated in a FEMA-designated flood plain, or not.
Priest/Teacher insurance rates for any church/school should depend on their track-record of handling the shitheads who abuse our children.
“The Ecumenical Counsel has just given the Pope permission to become a nun… (but only on Fridays)”.
– Lenny Bruce
“The Pope is really Jewish! You know how I know the Pope is Jewish? Anybody who wears a yarmulka and drives a Cadillac is Jewish.”
– Jackie Mason
“Help! Help! These people who dress in robes and hats and other various charismatic phonies like them are making us look like fools!!”
– A concerned person from a ‘Christian’ family background.
On the other hand if they won then there would have been severe repercussions the other way. When diocese want to close churches, claiming that they own the assets, they would now be unable to. Any church, no matter how small, would be able to keep not only its doors open but then staff it with a priest or even lay priest themselves. Nor would the Bishop be able to claim any amount of offering or tithe from individual churches.
For the Catholic Church, it might be a good thing they lost.
Hmmm. Just more evidence that the Church in America (and elsewhere) is less about True religion and more about politics. More concerned with power and money and reputation than with being true to what Christ taught.
Bah, where are the Bonhoffers and the Mother Teresas and the St. Francises any more?
Hey up there on the high thrones of Catholicism, Practice please – not Pontificating…
A Protestant
Big cults deserve no more protections than the little ones in Waco, TX or anywhere else.