LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Jean Guccione, Times Staff Writer
A state appellate court ordered Cardinal Roger M. Mahony on Monday to comply with grand jury subpoenas seeking the internal church records of two former Roman Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children.
It was the second time in a year that a court has told Mahony to turn over the records.
A three-judge panel from the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles rejected the archdiocese's argument that it was constitutionally protected from having to disclose documents from priest personnel files.
"While it is true the right to religious freedom holds a special place in our history and culture, there also must be an accommodation by religious believers and institutions to the rules of civil society, particularly when the state's compelling interest in protecting children is in question," Presiding Justice Joan Dempsey Klein wrote in a 49-page opinion. Justices Walter Croskey and Patti Kitching concurred.