There is an ongoing legal issue relating to some hierarchical churches which can be summarized, albeit in a idiomatic way as: which entity owns the churchhouse? Now there are a couple of possible owners: the local parish, the regional diocese, the national church or perhaps an international headquarter. In the case of Spokane Parish, the regional dioceses is in bankruptcy as a result of the various sex abuse related judgements which were taken against that entity. Therefore the recent decision by a US District Court that the local property legally belonged to the local parish was bad news for the creditors in the diocesan bankruptcy. Specifically, a U.S. District Court in Washington state recently ruled that Roman Catholic local parishes own their own schools and parishes. This ruling pits the church against the sex-abuse victims who have claims against the regional diocese and therefor wanted a different ruling, one which would lodge ownership of the local land and buildings in the regional diocese. This recent opinion joins several other opinions on the same issue across the United States. "The Quackenbush decision runs counter as well to a ruling by another bankruptcy judge in Oregon. But it appears to support the position of some Massachusetts parishioners that the Boston archdiocese has no right to forcibly close down parishes." However, according to the article linked below, in remanding the case back to lower court, the District Court (which was acting as an appellate court for the bankruptcy court) cautioned that the bankruptcy judge may have to determine, through evidentiary hearings, the ownership structure and the acquisition history of each of the diocese's 83 parishes, a process that could take years. "The District Court also refused to make a blanket determination that each parish property was free of liability from the sex-abuse cases, setting up the possibility of protracted discovery and further litigation." "Looming large, as well, are lawsuits set for later this year in Southern California. In San Diego and Los Angeles, the first few of more than 500 sex-abuse cases are scheduled to go to trial later this year." The full article quoted and paraphrased above will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://baw-media.com/lrd3_AASLWQAAFRIB Pam