SPOKANE (WA)
The Seattle Times
By The Associated Press
SPOKANE — A federal judge will decide whether a newspaper can see sex-abuse claims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, which wants to block their release to avoid possible disclosure of unfounded allegations against priests.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Patricia Williams has scheduled a hearing Monday on The Spokesman-Review's request to look at versions of the claims with claimants' names deleted.
The newspaper has formally objected to a diocese motion to seal court records in the case. Copies of the claims already have been made available to attorneys and others working on the case.
There are about 175 individual claims against the diocese, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004 because of the sex-abuse scandal.