Judge rejects Catholic priests’ 1st Amendment argument

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