Is God Judgment Proof?

As the headlines of the Catholic Church child sex-abuse scandal fade away, the lawsuits resulting from the acts themselves and the cover-ups are winding their way through the system. Once liability is established, of course, the focus turns to damages. Some are making a rather unique argument that the Church, unlike any other entity, should be shielded from potentially huge punitive damage awards under the First Amendment. Today at Findlaw, Jared Leland of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty lays out that argument. Oddly enough, Marci Hamilton, in a column last week at Findlaw, completely blows the argument out of the water. I just can't see any reason for a court to buy Leland's arguments. Almost all the negatives he ascribes to punitive damages apply whether the defendant in question is the Church, a hospital, or General Motors. In other words, he makes some potentially valid policy arguments against punitives in general, but isn't convincing as to why the Church should be exempt from them.