BOSTON (AP) - Sharply criticizing the Boston Archdiocese, a
judge Monday ordered the public release of about 11,000 internal church
documents related to 65 priests accused of molesting children over the past
three decades.
The two rulings by Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney came as lawyers for
alleged victims and the Roman Catholic Church met to try to settle more than
400 lawsuits.
On Friday, the church complied with a court order to hand over the documents to
lawyers for alleged victims. But the church asked that the documents be sealed
from public view until at least January.
Sweeney rejected the request and chastised the church.
"While the defendants have seemingly produced the documents to opposing
counsel at the last minute and under a warning of sanctions and contempt, they
still resist public disclosure of those documents," the judge wrote.
"If the tone of this endorsement is harsh, so be it. The court simply will
not be toyed with," she wrote.
The judge also ruled in favor of victims' lawyers seeking the psychiatric
records of the Rev. Bernard Lane.
The documents were sought by lawyers for a man who claims he was repeatedly
raped by the Rev. Paul Shanley. Attorneys hope the documents show the
archdiocese had a habit of transferring priests to other parishes even after
accusations of child abuse.
In her ruling, Sweeney criticized the church's decision to allow Lane to
celebrate Mass at a parish in the late 1990s, even after church officials had
psychiatric reports showing he had a history of molesting boys.
Sweeney said the records "raise significant questions of whether the
archdiocese was really exercising the care they claimed to use in assigning
offending priests."
Archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Morrissey did not immediately return a call
seeking comment on the two rulings. Lane's attorney also did not immediately
return a call.
Meanwhile, more than two dozen lawyers representing hundreds of alleged victims
met with lawyers for the archdiocese to begin settlement talks in more than 400
lawsuits against the church.
Morrissey said earlier Monday that the meeting would "attempt to set
structure to the lawsuits in our desire to work towards a settlement in a fair
and equitable manner."
Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer for about 40 alleged victims, said he was not
hopeful about the talks.
In September, Garabedian reached a $10 million settlement with the archdiocese
for 86 alleged victims of defrocked priest John J. Geoghan, but only after the
church backed out of an earlier, tentative agreement worth up to $30 million.
"My clients simply do not believe that the leaders of the church have the
best interests of the victims at heart," Garabedian said. "Let's face
it - the track record has not been good."