New York Times acknowledges: lawyer steered coverage of abuse story

April 28, 2010

In a profile of Jeffrey Anderson, the New York Times reveals that the lawyer who is attempting to bring suit against the Vatican was successful in steering the Times news coverage toward his case.

Referring to Anderson's involvement in the case of Father Lawrence Murphy, the Times story notes that the aggressive trial lawyer was a main source for a front-page report critical of Pope Benedict:

The New York Times was working on a different article last month when a reporter contacted Mr. Anderson. He provided documents about the Murphy case describing how efforts by Wisconsin church officials to subject Father Murphy to a canonical trial and remove him from the priesthood were halted after he wrote a letter to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, asking for a cessation of the trial.

The Times report also quoted Jeffrey Lena, an attorney representing the Vatican in American courts, who observed that Anderson had courted publicity to favor his lawsuits. "It shows how you can both create a media frenzy, and then capitalize on it," Lena said.

 

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Further information:

• A Frenzied Pace for Lawyer Behind Vatican Suits (New York Times)
• Profile of Jeffrey Anderson, aggressive legal advocate for abuse victims (CWN, 4/19)