SAN DIEGO - A federal judge on Wednesday said she wants an outside accountant to audit the finances of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, and criticized church attorneys for failing to include about 770 parish accounts in the diocese's bankruptcy filings.

"This is the most Byzantine accounting system I've ever seen," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler said in court, two days after she issued a harsh order regarding concerns that church officials were trying to improperly transfer money from the diocese to the parishes.

Adler also said the court "has not been well-served" by the accounting information the diocese has provided in its bankruptcy filings.

"I want someone to study this and report to me," Adler said. "The court needs this information and it needs it independently."

Adler's comments came during a hearing in which she ordered the diocese and its attorneys to show why she should not penalize them for attempting to change taxpayer identification numbers on some 770 bank accounts while the diocese's bankruptcy proceedings are pending.

The diocese reportedly has more than 1,200 bank accounts, including the more than 770 accounts associated with the individual parishes.

"I've had multibillion-dollar corporations in my courtroom that didn't have 1,200 bank accounts," Adler said.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy Feb. 28, bringing a halt to sexual abuse litigation on the eve of the first trial of an abuse case in San Diego. The diocese, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, has 98 churches, runs nearly 50 schools and has almost 1 million parishioners.

Wednesday's hearing was so packed that court officials opened up a second courtroom so that the overflow crowd - including complainants and journalists - could listen in on the proceedings via a phone line piped in through speakers. The second courtroom was also filled to capacity, and included most of the journalists in attendance.

During the hearing, Adler ordered the diocese to amend its court filings to include the bank 770 accounts belonging to the parishes.

The judge also ordered that the diocese leader, Bishop Robert Brom, personally sign the revised list of bank accounts and financial information so Brom can "attest to the veracity of the information."

Adler did not find the diocese or its attorneys in contempt of court.

Susan Boswell, an attorney representing the diocese in the bankruptcy proceedings, apologized to Adler "for any confusion we have created," and said the diocese will cooperate with the external audit.

Boswell told Adler she had misinterpreted Adler's questions at a March 1 hearing regarding how the parishes would protect their cash flow through the bankruptcy process.

"This was not a change of ownership or anything nefarious," Boswell told Adler of the move to change the taxpayer numbers.

Adler questioned five people - Boswell and two other attorneys representing the church officials, as well as two clergymen - to see why 98 parishes were told to change the taxpayer identification number on their bank accounts.

The taxpayer ID number for all parish accounts was the same number that the diocese uses, but attorneys representing the diocese repeatedly said in court that the diocese does not have control over those accounts. The money in those accounts belongs to the parishes, not the diocese, the attorneys said.

In ordering the external audit, Adler noted that the information will, for the time being, be used only as it relates to how the diocese spends money on day-to-day operations - but she also said that the information could extend to other uses as the bankruptcy proceedings progress.

The diocese has offered to pay $95 million to settle the more than 140 sexual abuse claims filed against it, but attorneys for those who have sued in connection with alleged abuse by priests have said a fair settlement would be closer to $200 million.

- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.