Catholic Church: Not All Bankruptcy May Be Financial

With news today that the Portland Diocese will join the roster of churches crying poor in the face of lawsuits stemming from the priest-abuse scandals. Sure, lawsuits can push anyone to the fiscal brink and beyond. But to have dioceses claim bankruptcy when they already enjoy tax exempt status and while money keeps running to Vatican City to fill the vaults and re-gild all that gold and such seems a mite off.

Sure. Vatican City has yet to really acknowledge the scandal in any significant way. They left the American bishops to come up with a plan that really pleased no one for the specific purpose of trying to get the media off the back of the lesser holy trinity: Vatican, Pope, and all that wealth.

It's time for VC to acknowledge the issue. And if they won't do it one way, they can do it another: help pay the legal bills for the dioceses that have been sending money to Rome all these years. If the Vatican does not, don't let the dioceses, which shrugged off the problem for so long, have a free pass on paying the bills caused by their mismanagement. If the church declares bankruptcy, they lose their tax exempt status. And then start a dialog in the UN about why VC has a seat like it's a country.