NASHVILLE (TN)
The Tennessean
By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer
A Davidson County judge yesterday ordered the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville to turn over all financial records of its parishes and church-run businesses to two molestation victims who are suing the church.
But the question of which holdings jurors will be allowed to consider for punitive damages if the church loses the lawsuit will remain unanswered for now.
"I just want to say this for purposes of discovery, I don't think this judge is ready to rule right now about whether this parish property belongs to the diocese," Judge Walter Kurtz said at a hearing yesterday.
The judge noted that similar disputes over whether parishes should be considered part of the net worth of a diocese are being litigated in bankruptcy proceedings in Portland, Ore., and Tucson, Ariz.
But Kurtz wanted lawyers who are suing the church on behalf of two molestation victims to have time to analyze the data in advance of the trial.