Parishioners try to recover $775,000
Florence, Oregon --
It was an unusual notice in last Sunday's church bulletin at St. Mary's Our Lady of the Dunes Catholic Church: an expression of gratitude to the hundreds of members who've filed legal claims against the Archdiocese of Portland.
In all, about 300 parishioners have filed claims - but not because of any allegations of sex abuse. Instead, members say they just want back the $775,000 they've contributed for a major church building project - money "frozen" by a judge after the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy last summer.
With legal claims of more than $500 million alleging sex abuse by priests and other employees, the archdiocese became the first in the country to seek bankruptcy protection.
The decision has produced a fiscal quandary for many of the archdiocese's 124 parishes - perhaps none more so than Our Lady of the Dunes, which stands to lose its dream of expansion because of building permit deadlines.
The archdiocese, which covers all of Western Oregon, has declared that anyone with a legal claim against it must file the claim by this Friday - in anticipation of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing in Portland next month. Church members in Florence say they feel they had no other option but to do so.
Read the article at The Register Dated April 27, 2005
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It was an unusual notice in last Sunday's church bulletin at St. Mary's Our Lady of the Dunes Catholic Church: an expression of gratitude to the hundreds of members who've filed legal claims against the Archdiocese of Portland.
In all, about 300 parishioners have filed claims - but not because of any allegations of sex abuse. Instead, members say they just want back the $775,000 they've contributed for a major church building project - money "frozen" by a judge after the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy last summer.
With legal claims of more than $500 million alleging sex abuse by priests and other employees, the archdiocese became the first in the country to seek bankruptcy protection.
The decision has produced a fiscal quandary for many of the archdiocese's 124 parishes - perhaps none more so than Our Lady of the Dunes, which stands to lose its dream of expansion because of building permit deadlines.
The archdiocese, which covers all of Western Oregon, has declared that anyone with a legal claim against it must file the claim by this Friday - in anticipation of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing in Portland next month. Church members in Florence say they feel they had no other option but to do so.
Read the article at The Register Dated April 27, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 10:44 AM
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