"Unique Case" Calls for Gov't "Intrusion"

By Becky Yeh
OneNewsNow
January 24, 2013

http://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2013/01/24/unique-case-calls-for-govt-intrusion

Concerning the cover-up of sex abuse in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, a Christian attorney says a little government "intrusion" is necessary to ensure that justice be served.

Prosecutors who were unable to build a case against leaders of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are now reviewing internal church documents that were recently released. According to the Los Angeles Times, the files show how church leaders protected pedophile priests and sought to hide information from other church leaders. The documents reveal that retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and church hierarchy failed to discipline those priests, even though the leaders were aware there were other victims.


Bob Tyler of Advocates for Faith & Freedom says this case calls for unusual measures.

"In this case, the victims certainly deserve justice. However, a judge needs to decide whether that includes publicly identifying those individuals who may have known about the abuse but did nothing about it," he asserts.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's office is currently reviewing documents as they become available. A superior court judge has ruled that personnel files must be released, though a previous decision allowed the archdiocese to redact the names of the church hierarchy (see earlier story).

"We always have to be extremely carefully whenever intruding into the autonomy of a religious organization, particularly where the government is intruding, because we don't want the government to overstep their bounds," Tyler explains. "But this a unique case that requires some of that intrusion."

The LA Times and Associated Press intervened in the case and requested the release of the files.