TUCSON (AZ)
Casa Grande Valley Newspapers
Wire Services, Associated Press December 10, 2004
TUCSON (AP) - The lead bankruptcy lawyer for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson claims parishes are financially separate from the diocese.
In a court filing, attorney Susan Boswell says the diocese holds the parishes in trust "with each parish retaining the equitable and beneficial interest in that property."
Boswell wants an argument by another diocese that parishes are not separate financial entities stricken from a court's record.
Two months ago, attorneys filed a motion in Maricopa County Superior Court on behalf of the Diocese of Phoenix that said a parish "does not independently own any property or assets," and that parishes within a diocese are "part of the diocese itself" - separate under church law, but not civil law.
That contention directly contradicts what Tucson Diocese Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas has said - that parishes are separate financial entities that can be individually sued and are not part of the diocese's overall wealth.
Posted by kshaw at December 11, 2004 12:18 AM