Bridgeport Diocese Loses Bid to Keep Abuse Records Sealed

[Hepburn]

The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to delay the court-ordered release of thousands of legal documents from lawsuits filed against priests accused of child sex abuse.

The decision leaves few options for the diocese after a seven-year tug-of-war with four newspapers, including The New York Times, over the release of more than 12,000 pages of depositions and church records.

The diocese still has another request before the court, asking the justices to hear arguments that release of the records would violate the First Amendment rights accorded to religious groups. But such a hearing appears unlikely after the court’s refusal on Monday, in a single-sentence ruling, to stay a lower-court order that the records be unsealed.

...snip...

Its (the diocese's) main argument was that the release of the records would severely undermine protections against state interference in church business.

(Emphasis added.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/nyregion/06abuse.html?hp

The RCC is seriously arguing that the First Amendment viz separation of church and state protects them under the guise of "church business" to allow them to cover up records on child abuse by priests? And they argued this bullshit theory all the way to the SCOTUS???

Holy Mother of Batman...:puke:

[pnwmom]

1. I am glad that the preponderance of Catholics on the Court didn't make

them incapable of rendering a just decision on this issue.

[Hepburn]

2. Same thoughts here....

...maybe most find that covering up child sex abuse under a First Amendment claim is truly offensive.

I never thought I would ever see an argument like that. How sad that the RC Church would stoop that low.

JMHO

[pnwmom]

3. It makes me wonder

what else they're hiding.

[Hepburn]

4. Makes me think there is a ton more and it is worse.

If they were on the up-and-up and had legitimately dealth with the pedo priests, yeah, why wouldn't they want to show they have done everthing which needed to be done.

What I think one of the problems is, is that they knew for sure some of those priests were very, very sick and when the heat got too much in one parish, they would pull the priest and put him in another ~~ and expose another whole flock of children to his abuse. And, I think this went on as SOP.

Makes me ill...

[pnwmom]

5. And now all the lay people in the parishes are the ones who are forced

to pay for it -- while being lectured to by the hierarchy that it's because of our immoral society that this happened.

[Hepburn]

7. And...they blame the entire mess on teh gay....

...that is soooooo bogus.

Yes, there are pedophiles ~~ but they like CHILDREN. That has nothing to do with adult sexual orientation.

What total bullshit.

[defendandprotect]

9. Which seems like a good reason NOT to give them money . . .!!!

[defendandprotect]

6. Meanwhile, taxpayer money to their "faith-based" religions has been spent on lawsuits . . .

against pedophile priests?????????????

Being investigated, evidently --

And, now they LIKE Separsation of Church & State -- hmmmm.....

[Hepburn]

8. Why the hell should ANY church be tax exempt?

I don't see that they are any different than any other business. Some people and organizations just happen to be in the God business.

[defendandprotect]

10. Land holdings, real estate investments, stock portfolios shouldn't be tax-exempt . ..

Church & it's surrounding property, soup kitchens should be --

Also, lots of mischief done with this huge wealth --

Frightening and buying off parents whose children were abused --

And the Mormon and Catholic Churches both campaigned with these tax exempt dollars

against the Equal Rights Amendment for women --

And, recently, Prop 8 in California -- though we don't know all the details on that as yet/???

[Hepburn]

11. But....

...charity work would be a tax deduction to the church's business taxes. So...the good they do ~~ and the more they do ~~ the less tax they would pay.

Seems fair to me. :hi: