Dear ken5050,
Your analysis makes sense. Adding to it, I imagine if several score parishes nationwide decide to leave, the cost of knockdown-dragout fights in each one would overwhelm the national church, as legal costs could soar into the tens of millions of dollars.
Alternately, each individual parish will only bear the legal costs for their individual fight.
I think it's likely that cooler heads will prevail, and in spite of all the saber-rattling, the national "church" is primarily angling, as you point out, for as favorable a settlement as they can get.
The alternative to all-out war is milking a million or two or three from each outgoing parish, and turning a real money-loser into a serious cash cow.
sitetest
This is what will befall many churches, sadly
Bump. If there is a real legal battle, the financial toll on both the Diocese and individual churches will be enormous.
On a side note, I talked to one of the admins at Apostles who told me this about contributions, if any are interested (somebody asked in a thread a while ago):
"Checks to any of the churches involved, with a note in the memo line designating the money to the legal defense fund, will be gratefully appreciated for the financial help but more for the support - it is a most generous impulse."