OREGON
The Oregonian
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
STEVE WOODWARD
In a preliminary decision with overtones for the Catholic Church in Western Oregon, the Vatican has told the Archdiocese of Boston that it had erred in seizing and selling hundreds of millions of dollars in parish assets.
The recent decision, in essence, means that the Vatican considers parish real estate and investments to belong to the parishes, not the archdiocese.
The Vatican's finding echoes the argument used by the Archdiocese of Portland to protect parish property from being sold to pay off millions of dollars in child sexual-abuse claims. The dispute over Western Oregon's parish property is being fought in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, where 124 parishes and nearly 400,000 parishioners have found themselves named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit to determine property ownership.
"We have not seen (the) decision from the Vatican," the Portland archdiocese said in a statement, "so we are unable to specifically comment on it. However, as Archbishop (John G.) Vlazny stated on July 6, 2004, 'under canon law, parish assets belong to the parish. I have no authority to seize parish property.'
"This is what we have stated all along in the bankruptcy proceedings."
As a practical matter, it remains to be seen whether the Vatican action has any impact on the Portland proceedings.