I wonder would the Vatican pony up if the archdioces got no legal relief.
What will happen, of course, is the legal entity that is the archdiocese will reorganize into two entities: one with all the liabilities and some fraction of the current assets, and the other with no liabilities and the balance of current assets. I leave estimating the ratio as an exercise for the reader.
A Roman Catholic archdiocese in the US is to declare bankruptcy because it cannot meet the cost of claims by people allegedly abused by its priests.
The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, will be the first in the US to do so.
The action will suspend the start of a civil trial of a priest accused of molesting more than 50 boys.
Other US Roman Catholic dioceses are also facing bankruptcy, or have had to sell property, to meet the cost of abuse claims brought against priests.