BishopAccountability.org
	Bridgeport Diocese to Petition the U.S. Supreme Court By Dave Altimari Hartford Courant July 17, 2009 http://www.courant.com/community/bridgeport/hc-bridgeport-diocese-supreme-court,0,5825167.story The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport will petition the nation's highest court in a quest to keep secret more than 12,000 pages of court records involving priest sexual abuse cases. Church officials announced Friday they will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case on why the documents should be kept secret. The state Supreme Court ruled by a 4-1 margin that the court documents involving 23 lawsuits against seven priests from the diocese should be unsealed. The diocese also is asking the state Supreme Court to issue a stay against releasing the documents until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to take up their appeal. The documents were scheduled to be unsealed as early as Monday, July 20th. The attempt to get the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, known officially as Rosado vs. Bridgeport Roman catholic Diocesan Corp., is the last legal maneuver church officials can take in what has been a protracted battle with media organizations trying to get the files unsealed. The diocese is trying to keep closed more than 12,600 pages of depositions, exhibits and legal arguments involving 23 lawsuits against seven priests from the Bridgeport diocese. The lawsuits were settled by the church for undisclosed amounts with the agreement that the settlements and the documents would remained sealed forever. Several newspapers, including The Courant, filed a lawsuit to have the documents unsealed. Among the court documents are three depositions by then-Bishop Edward Egan, who was in charge of the Bridgeport diocese when most of the lawsuits against priests under his control were filed and adjudicated. Egan recently retired as the archbishop of New York.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.