SAN FRNCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle
Don Lattin, Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, March 18, 2005
It didn't take long for the officers of the court to see how hard it is to find a jury that can dispassionately pass judgment on Catholic bishops accused of covering up the crimes of pedophile priests.
No one had even mentioned the name of Bishop Emeritus John Cummins, the retired leader of the Diocese of Oakland, when the second potential juror questioned at the Hayward Hall of Justice offered her opinion:
"John Cummins pushed it under the rug,'' said the woman, a Catholic who has worked for the church. "It should have been dealt with a long time ago.''
This week, lawyers on both sides of the bay argued the first two cases to face juries from hundreds of lawsuits filed against the church under a 2002 state law.
Posted by kshaw at March 18, 2005 07:23 AM