Interesting church-property case

This news story describes a recent ruling by a federal bankruptcy judge that -- contrary to the arguments of the Diocese of Spokane -- the Diocese owns the parishes and schools in the diocese, and that these properties are therefore available to the Diocese's creditors, including sex-abuse victims.  The Diocese had "argued that the properties belong to individual parishes, not to the diocese, and therefore were not subject to liquidation."

In her ruling, [Judge] Williams tackled thorny church-state issues that are being closely watched nationwide. Among the most important: whether civil law would trump church law on the issue of who owns parish property.

Under Catholic Church law, individual parishes own their property. And while the bishop holds legal title to parish property and schools, the church considers such property to be held in trust for the benefit of parishioners. The diocese argued that any decision to the contrary would violate the church's First Amendment rights in that the state essentially would be forcing the bishop to violate church law.

In her ruling, . . . the bankruptcy judge said [Bishop] Skylstad had voluntarily entered into bankruptcy court. She said that though the dispute did involve a church, the case was not an internal church dispute and therefore civil law took precedence.

Further, she said it was not a violation of the First Amendment to apply federal bankruptcy law or state law to determine what property the diocese owns.

I tend to be a church-autonomy hawk.  Still, this ruling -- as described in the article, anyway -- seems right.  I'm not an expert in this area, but I'm inclined to think that, having cast the finances -- and perhaps the future -- of the Diocese before the bankruptcy court, Bishop Skylstad can hardly complain that the bankruptcy court is doing what bankruptcy courts do.  (Thanks to Amy Welborn).

Do others disagree?

Rick

Update:  Professor Friedman reports, at "Religion Clause", on another interesting church-autonomy / no-entanglement case, involving New York's divorce law and Jewish marriage law, and on yet another one, involving judicial resolution of collective-bargaining disputes involving Catholic schools.