More news from Boston: I haven't wanted to comment on each new episode in the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic church because, after a while, it's all just more of the same.

Every once in a while, though, there's something different. The church is trying very hard to wriggle out of a $30 million settlement which it announced that it had agreed to earlier with the victims of one particular priest, John Geoghan. They claim, in particular, that the settlement would exhaust their available financial resources, and leave them with no money to compensate the victims of all the other priests.

But a simple search of title deeds in towns within the Boston Archdiocese turns up $160 million dollars' worth of property which is not being used for any church-related purpose --- including quite a few office buildings. And the property might well go for much more than its assessed value if sold in the current market.

So far, the archdiocese has no comment...