PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) The ink was barely dry on bankruptcy papers filed by Jesuits in the Pacific Northwest when both sides began wrangling over the value of the Catholic order’s assets.

Officials at a handful of Jesuit-sponsored institutions said they don’t belong to the Jesuits and aren’t subject to their legal problems, while lawyers who represent people sexually abused by priests said the province has grossly underestimated its worth.

Kelly Clark, a Portland lawyer who has represented victims of abuse committed by Jesuit priests, said he was surprised to read that the Jesuits declared assets of just $4.8 million in their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing late Tuesday (Feb. 17). And he expects a legal fight over properties commonly associated with the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, as the Jesuits are formally known.

“They’re going to say that they don’t own Jesuit High School, Gonzaga University, Seattle University and maybe other institutions — even though those institutions were Jesuit established, Jesuit dominated,” Clark said. “I think the legal question will be, are they Jesuit controlled for purposes of determining equitable ownership? So there are going to be a number of hard-fought legal battles.”

Clark said the Jesuits’ estimate of assets isn’t unprecedented. In 2004, he said, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland underestimated the value of its assets in its initial bankruptcy filing, a calculation that — after much legal wrangling — was corrected by the courts. He predicted a similar battle ahead for the Jesuits.

The Oregon Province of Jesuits, including its leader, the Rev. Patrick J. Lee, would not comment on the bankruptcy on Wednesday, said spokesman Pat Walsh. But the leadership of Jesuit High School, St. Andrew Nativity School and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps said their institutions are not owned, financed or governed by the Jesuit province and that the bankruptcy won’t affect their programs.

“We have never shared assets with the province,” said John Gladstone, president of Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Ore. The school has been separately incorporated since its founding in 1956, he said.

Expecting that the Oregon Province might declare bankruptcy, the school consulted its own attorneys. “They looked at our bylaws, how we’re set up financially and structurally … and they told us we’re very safe,” he said.