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	Openness at Long Last Releasing 3,000 Pages of Documents in the Case of Pedophile Siegfried Widera Will Help the Public Better Understand How the Catholic Church Handled the Case of an Abusive Priest Editorial Milwaukee Journal Sentinel February 8, 2007 http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=563593 California Superior Court Judge Peter Lichtman got it exactly right when he noted that the release of Catholic Church documents he ordered in the case of pedophile Siegfried Widera was necessary and of "no less import or significance" than a monetary settlement. The public deserves to see the paper record in the case of Widera, once a priest in Milwaukee and California. Hiding such papers doesn't protect Widera's victims; it serves only to protect those who failed to protect victims from Widera's predations. Lichtman said the documents, which the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese fought vigorously to keep secret, support the common theme of abuse victims: "Priests with known sexual proclivities have been handed off from one location to another without regard to the potential harm to the children of the church as well as the family members of those children." Among the many sad things in the case of Widera - who, facing 42 counts of child molestation, committed suicide in 2003 - is that this release of information had to be ordered by a California court. The Wisconsin Supreme Court in the mid-1990s essentially gave church officials protection from lawsuits not accorded to anyone else. The Milwaukee archdiocese has done much to make up for past abuse and to make sure children today are not at risk. But the issue of justice for past victims is still open. The release of the documents will help; overturning the state court's decisions would help more. Should victims older than 20 be able to sue the Catholic Church for the pedophile abuses of some priests? E-mail jsedit@journalsentinel.com
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