God and Caesar, and the question of rendering

The Washington Post has an article up about the Archdiocese of Portland filing bankruptcy in an attempt to avoid paying damages from the numerous sex abuse cases they are facing.

Legal questions aside (Hell, I have no idea who owns property in the Catholic church), there is a really pressing moral question here: Is attempting to avoid compensating the victims of your abuse morally acceptable? In many of these priest sex scandal cases, the church isn't even claiming that the alleged offenses didn't happen, they're just claiming that they shouldn't have to pay for them.

Sure, going bankrupt is the smart business decision. Giving everything you can, up to and including liquidating assets and asking parishioners to donate directly to a victims fund would be the moral thing to do. Wouldn't a properly contrite church be willing to do any and everything possible to alleviate the pain of those it has offended against? Contrition is a big part of the Catholic approach to sin and forgiveness, and I sure don't see much of it going on with cases like this.