Dude, get over your pseudo legal analysis. No one stole anything because the congregation hasn't given up its property or had it taken away. The Church hierarchy told them to do something. They refused. They are part of the Catholic Church so one might naturally assume they are supposed to follow Church rules, but this is an obvious squabble over property and $$. Hardly an admirable fight on either side. It is supposed to be a Church, after all. But there hasn't been any theft or any extortion. Each side is doing their thing. Most Church property belongs to the Church and this situation is an anomoly.
For your benefit, pal--the attempt to steal, whether successful or not, is still covered by the eighth commandment as well as by the secular legal code. Ditto the attempt to extort.
Burke isn't the first Bishop to fight this battle with this church. Either they are Catholic or they are their own church. You can't pick and choose.
UR doesn't have a legal leg to stand on, as you observed.
But UR wants into the fight because the Schizzies are desperately seeking "justification" for their anti-nomianism.
IOW, UR's attempting to bring MarcelMouse back into the Church.
This has to be one of the most inane comments I have ever read on FreeRepublic.
All Church property belongs to the Church. And if property does not belong to the Church, like St. Stanislaus, it is not Church property is it, but the property of some other entity.