Victims fight for church files' release
Los Angeles, California -
While money has dominated discussion of Roman Catholic molestation cases, recent legal struggles over the release of confidential clergy files highlight another tension -- the privacy rights of accused priests as opposed to victims' need to heal by sharing their pain.
The day before an Alameda County jury awarded two brothers nearly $2 million for alleged sexual molestation by a priest, the state Supreme Court quietly blocked the release of documents detailing the sexual histories of dozens of Los Angeles priests.
On Tuesday, accused priests in Orange County announced they would fight their diocese's agreement to allow the public release of their private files.
Both developments were a blow for plaintiffs, who fought for the release of their alleged abusers' personnel files, saying the exposure would validate their stories, help bring closure and prevent future abuse.
Attorneys for the priests say the disclosure would throw open the kinds of documents widely accepted as private: medical and psychological records, attorney-client communications and employment records.
"What we're talking about are pretty fundamental privacy rights," said Donald Steier, attorney for 26 of the 117 accused Los Angeles priests.
Read the article at ContraCostaTimes.com Dated April 17, 2005
Search the web for this article
While money has dominated discussion of Roman Catholic molestation cases, recent legal struggles over the release of confidential clergy files highlight another tension -- the privacy rights of accused priests as opposed to victims' need to heal by sharing their pain.
The day before an Alameda County jury awarded two brothers nearly $2 million for alleged sexual molestation by a priest, the state Supreme Court quietly blocked the release of documents detailing the sexual histories of dozens of Los Angeles priests.
On Tuesday, accused priests in Orange County announced they would fight their diocese's agreement to allow the public release of their private files.
Both developments were a blow for plaintiffs, who fought for the release of their alleged abusers' personnel files, saying the exposure would validate their stories, help bring closure and prevent future abuse.
Attorneys for the priests say the disclosure would throw open the kinds of documents widely accepted as private: medical and psychological records, attorney-client communications and employment records.
"What we're talking about are pretty fundamental privacy rights," said Donald Steier, attorney for 26 of the 117 accused Los Angeles priests.
Read the article at ContraCostaTimes.com Dated April 17, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 5:34 AM
Translate this post:
Spanish | Italian | French | German | Portuguese | Chinese | Korean | Japanese
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home