San Diego bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler appointed R. Todd Neilson, a nationally recognized expert witness in bankruptcy cases, to examine hundreds of accounts associated with the Catholic Diocese of San Diego and its parishes.The diocese stated in bankruptcy court that it does not own or control tens of millions of dollars worth of parish assets. The issue of parish-ownership is at the center of the legal struggle between the Roman Catholic diocese and lawyers representing 150 victims of child sexual abuse by priests. SignOnSanDiego.com also writes that the 175-page report, filed by court-appointed financial expert witness Neilson…
found no overarching and consistent accounting system. “As a result (church officials) are often woefully unaware of the specific financial operations of the individual parishes,” it said. This is the first time in five Catholic bankruptcy cases across the country that a judge ordered such a financial review….The bankruptcy petition, which came after four years of unsuccessful settlement negotiations, put on hold the lawsuits filed by men and women who allege they were sexually abused as minors by priests and other church personnel in cases that date back decades.