SAN DIEGO (CA)
Reno Gazette-Journal
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Posted: 12/24/2005
A federal judge in San Diego has rejected the Roman Catholic Church's effort to strike down a state law that allows lawsuits by people who claim they were abused by priests long ago.
More than 153 are pending against the San Diego diocese and 560 abuse claims are pending against the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The San Diego diocese had argued the 2002 law illegally interfered with its religious practices.
Former Reno Bishop Phillip Straling is considered a key witness in most of the San Diego cases. John Manly, a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based attorney handling many of the lawsuits, said Friday that he plans to call Straling to testify on two cases soon.
Straling is not accused of molesting children.