Missouri: Documents Turned over in Priest’s Abuse Case

By Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
September 14, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/us/missouri-documents-turned-over-in-priests-abuse-case.html?_r=1

After losing its appeals, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has turned over about 180 documents that were subpoenaed by lawyers for a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse. The Survivors Network had argued that the documents, mostly e-mails, should remain confidential because they contained information about victims. The organization, the nation’s largest advocacy group for victims of clergy sexual abuse, was supported by rape crisis centers, news media outlets and several former prosecutors, but the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a judge’s order to comply. The Survivors Network said it had not yet released all of the subpoenaed documents and was considering its options. Among the documents it withheld were those pertaining to the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, a Kansas City priest who pleaded guilty last month to child pornography charges and is still the target of civil lawsuits. The documents are under a protective order and supposed to be viewed only by the lawyers.