SPOKANE (WA)
Macon Telegraph
NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. - A federal bankruptcy judge ruled Friday that all the parish churches, parochial schools and other property of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane can be liquidated to pay victims of clergy sexual abuse.
The decision, expected to have ramifications for dioceses across the nation, is a major defeat for Spokane Bishop William Skylstad, who had argued he did not control individual parishes and thus they were not available to cover settlement costs.
"It is not a violation of the First Amendment to apply federal bankruptcy law to identify and define property of the bankruptcy estate even though the Chapter 11 debtor is a religious organization," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Patricia Williams wrote.
Skylstad said he will appeal the decision "because we have a responsibility, not only to victims, but to the generations of parishioners ... who have given so generously of themselves in order to build up the work of the Catholic Church in Eastern Washington."
David Clohessy, national director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the decision should make other bishops think twice about trying to protect assets by filing for bankruptcy.