San Diego Roman Catholic Diocese landholdings plummeted in 2019 when new law passed.

An analysis of land records by the Union-Tribune shows the diocese transferred 80 percent of its properties in 2019 — a plan the diocese says has been in the works for years

At the start of 2010, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego had an impressive land empire across the county, containing some 421 separate properties that county records show it owned or co-owned.

A dozen years later, those holdings have shrunk dramatically to just 56 properties, according to an analysis of county land records by the Union-Tribune.

Now, as the diocese faces hundreds of new lawsuits claiming sex abuse at the hands of clergy members, and openly warns it may declare bankruptcy, those holdings — and how the diocese disposed of them — have come under scrutiny by lawyers for some of those alleged victims.

Lawyers claim the decline in the diocese’s land portfolio was a fraudulent transfer of properties, from the diocese to individual parish corporations, that was designed to reduce the amount of money that would be available in any settlement of claims.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2023-04-10/catholic-diocese-san-diego-property-transfers