Judge rejects Catholic priestsÂ’ 1st Amendment argument
Prosecutors investigating priests for alleged sexual abuse have scored a major victory after a state judge ordered the Los Angeles archdiocese to turn over confidential records of two former priests accused of sexually abusing children.
The Los Angeles Times reports the judge rejected claims by Cardinal Roger M Mahony that the Constitution gave the Roman Catholic Church a right to withhold personnel files. Prosecutors have sought the files for 27 months. Mahony has taken the position that any review of confidential communications between a bishop and his priest by prosecutors would violate the church\'s rights under the 1st Amendment. But Judge Thomas Nuss, a retired Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who was appointed to referee the dispute, rejected Mahony\'s 1st Amendment argument and ruled that any potential problems for the church were outweighed by the state\'s compelling interest in prosecuting child molesters. Full report in the Los Angeles Times