Judge orders LA archdiocese to release sex-abuse files with names intact

January 07, 2013

A California judge has ruled that the Los Angeles archdiocese should release sex-abuse files without redacting the names of accused priests and prelates who handled their cases.

Judge Emilie Elias rejected arguments by accused priests, who had said that the release of files would violate their privacy rights. Her ruling, overturning an earlier court decision, appears to exhaust the priests’ legal avenues for preventing disclosure of the files.

The Los Angeles archdiocese, which has been resisting efforts to release the files for 5 years, now says that the order to provide unredacted document will delay the ultimate release of the files. The archdiocese also has argued that Judge Elias does not have proper authority to overturn the earlier court ruling. Thus the legal wrangling seems likely to continue.

 

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Further information:

• Judge says Calif archdiocese can’t black out names of leaders in priest files (AP)
• Los Angeles archdiocese ordered to release accused priests' files (CWN, 12/11/12)