Archdiocese ordered to hand over records

But settlements in 3 abuse cases may remain secret

By Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal

The Archdiocese of Louisville must provide people suing it with personnel files and other secret documents on any priest accused of sexual abuse over the past five decades, a judge ruled yesterday.

The archdiocese had argued that it should be shielded from turning over these records because such an order would violate the First Amendment protection of freedom of religion.

But Jefferson Circuit Judge James Shake rejected that argument.

Shake ruled, however, that the church does not have to turn over any documents relating to abuse before 1954, nor does it have to provide records on any priest who may have had a consensual, noncriminal sexual relationship with an adult.

Shake also said the church could keep secret the amounts it has paid to three plaintiffs who settled lawsuits out of court against the archdiocese in January.

Some 214 people have pending lawsuits against the archdiocese, alleging that it covered up cases of sexual abuse by 27 priests and six other people associated with the church.

William McMurry, a lawyer representing most of the plaintiffs, had subpoenaed the files as evidence of what he contended was the archdiocese's ''pattern and common scheme to wantonly endanger'' children.

The files include not only the priests' personnel records but also any documents kept in a secret archive reserved for ''sensitive or scandalous'' information under a church law known as Canon 489.

While disappointed that Shake turned down some of his requests for documents, McMurry said the judge's ruling is significant because it applies to documents on any priest accused of sexual abuse, not just the 27 priests named in suits.

''That's very important to connect the dots over the last 50 years,'' he said.

Archdiocese spokeswoman Cecelia Price said she could not comment last night because church officials had not yet had an opportunity to review the ruling with their attorneys.

The archdiocese had objected to McMurry's subpoena on several grounds -- including that the request amounted to a violation of the constitutional ''separation of church and state,'' according to Shake's ruling.

Shake rejected that argument, citing a Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling stating that for a church to turn over such documents ''poses no threat of government interference with the free exercise of religion.''

McMurry had sought documents on priests who had sexual relationships with adults, arguing that such documents would help show a pattern in how the church dealt with sexual misconduct. But Shake refused, saying ''consensual sexual contact is simply not relevant.''

He did, however, require the archdiocese to provide evidence of claims of nonconsensual sexual contact. Shake cited the cases involving the Rev. Robert Bowling, who is accused in lawsuits of sexual battery against two women, as well as sexual abuse involving nine girls. He has denied the accusations.

Shake also said the church did not need to look through documents from before 1954 in a ''fruitless search for information of only marginal relevance.'' All but one of the lawsuits alleges sexual abuse by priests since that year.

Shake said the archdiocese is aware of one pre-1954 incident and would show him those files privately for further consideration.

Shake turned down McMurry's request to find out how much the archdiocese paid to settle three lawsuits in January with plaintiffs alleging sexual abuse by the Rev. Louis E. Miller. But Shake sided with the archdiocese and the lawyer for those plaintiffs, Joseph L. White, saying the dollar amounts were irrelevant and that revealing them would violate the plaintiffs' privacy.

Shake has previously ordered the archdiocese to turn over documents regarding settlements up to last year. Those documents indicate that the archdiocese and individual priests paid almost $640,000 over the past 20 years to settle 12 claims of abuse.