SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
KGW
03:27 PM PST on Friday, December 16, 2005
By WILLIAM MCCALL, AP Writer
Attorneys for alleged victims of priest sex abuse argued Friday they should be allowed to ask whether the highest-ranking American in the Vatican is following federal law or church doctrine when he takes an oath to tell the truth at a deposition next month.
Archbishop William Levada has agreed to be in San Francisco on Jan. 9 to be questioned by attorneys about his tenure as archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland from 1986-95.
The Portland archdiocese was the first diocese in the nation to declare bankruptcy when it filed for protection from creditors in July 2004, just before the scheduled start of jury trials for victims seeking more than $155 million in damages.