A thorough look , NCR(eporter) at the extreme difficulties in Spokane these days:

Spokane is a church divided. The competing sentiments of spiritual anger and anguish lie at the heart of the bitter bankruptcy proceedings here, which recently entered into final stages of mediation. If mediation fails, Spokane could become the first diocese to be liquated since the sex scandals erupted nationwide in 2002, and the first since a collection of dustbowl parishes collapsed in Salina, Kan., during the Great Depression. Unprecedented legal battles tackling such issues as parish ownership and individual parishioner culpability play out here in a seemingly never-ending procession of court hearings, parish hall gatherings and backroom board meetings. Parishes, friends, even families, have been torn apart as Spokane Catholics confront, with unparalleled urgency, the question of how to compensate for the sins of the Fathers without compromising the future of the children.

The extent of the problem, as well as the deep divisions and questions puzzling the diocese, became apparent in material gleaned from legal depositions as well as dozens of interviews with those involved, including priests, parishioners, church workers, victims and relatives of victims.

While wealthier dioceses, such as Boston and Dallas, have emerged from costly victims’ settlements diminished but intact, the Catholic ministry in Spokane, a relatively poor diocese of 93,000 people spread across Eastern Washington’s winding river developments, few small cities, rustic prairie towns, lakeside villages, and old lumber hamlets, could be radically diminished. Many of its 83 parishes and 15 parochial schools could possibly be mortgaged or sold off.

“I’ve heard the phrase ‘death spiral’ quite a number of times,” said one priest. “There’s a growing belief that something cataclysmic could occur.”

Bathed in the shadows of a rambling mountain range and intersected by the Spokane River and sprawling lakes, there seems here a serene spirituality rooted in the beauty of the natural surroundings. People are mild-mannered, reserved. But Spokane is already reeling from recent sexual abuse scandals involving former Mayor Jim West and other high-profile citizens. Recently officials from Gonzaga University admitted that in 1969 school officials conspired with the Spokane Police department to cover-up allegations against the university president for sexual abuse of boys. And now Spokane struggles to adjust to its new reality as a focal point in the legal battles of the Catholic church scandals.

Ping-pong court rulings, what some see as head-scratching diocesan mismanagement and deception, steadfast victim attorneys and deep-seated mutual mistrust have resulted in an intractable situation. As the bankruptcy drags on, and the diocese hemorrhages hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees each month, Catholic organizations like Catholic Charities, Catholic Cemeteries, and Morning Star Boys Ranch, a home for troubled youth, are closing ranks to protect their own finances.

“Spiritual turfism,” is how one church employee described it.

It’s your must-read of the day. Well-written, objective and, as I said, thorough – explaining the major cases that have brought this about, and explaining the bankruptcy issue clearly – there are just serious questions all across the board about the diocese’s decision to declare bankruptcy and go to the mat about ownership of diocesan assets:

The legal strategy has been bungled from day one,” said one attorney. “It would have been much wiser to try and fight the individual suits one by one, losing some claims, and picking off others along the way. Instead, this whole thing has turned into a nightmare, with legal fees in the tens of millions, parishes in legal limbo, and no end in sight.”

Spokane’s legal strategy was probably motivated by desire for secrecy, said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

“Trials were never an option for Skylstad,” said Clohessy. “Only one bishop — Bishop Law in Boston — has been brought down due to the scandals, and his demise came from the airing of church records. That’s what Skylstad is trying to prevent here: long, drawn out trials, in which the church’s secrets would be laid out for everyone to see.”