PORTLAND (OR)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By WILLIAM MCCALL
AP BUSINESS WRITER
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The first bankruptcy in the nation declared by a Roman Catholic diocese has raised a thorny question whose answer may have an enormous impact on any future claims by victims of alleged priest sex abuse - who owns the churches and the property they are standing on?
Lawyers for the victims say it's the diocese. Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Portland say it is the individual parishes and Catholic schools.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris will ultimately decide who owns church property - and on Tuesday she will hear the arguments of both sides.
The case could set a precedent over whether federal law trumps Catholic doctrine when it comes to church property, according to legal scholars and some of the attorneys involved in the case.