As in seemingly all bankruptcy of Catholic Diocese, the diocese was considered a separate distinct corporate entity from the various parishes which the bishop reigns over. See below from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware Case, No. 09-13560 , Adv. Proc. No. 09-52866 [web posted is supplied at the bottom of my posting]
In this Opinion, the Court draws a distinction between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Delaware (the “Diocese”) and the Debtor. The Diocese is not a legal entity, but, rather, an ecclesiastical entity under Canon law. It includes the Debtor, the Diocese’s parishes, and the other affiliated entities that carry out the Diocese’s ministry. With one exception, the Non-Debtor Defendants (defined below) are separate corporate entities that are part of the Diocese. The Diocese and its members (parishes, etc.) are under the ecclesiastical authority of the Bishop. Catholic Diocese Foundation is both a separate corporate entity and is independent of the Diocese.
Like so many dioceses in the United States the diocese had a investment pool for the diocese and its parish. The bankruptcy court in Delaware basically came to the conclusion that to a large degree this pool should be considered assets for purposes of bankruptcy and thereby subject to the claims of creditors.
Click on the following to see the exact decision of the Delaware court: : http://www.deb.uscourts.gov/Opinions/2010/css06282010_09-52866.pdf
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