Psychology - Abuse and Recovery

From The Boston Globe, December 7, 2006:

Bridgeport, Connecticut - A Superior Court judge has ruled that sealed documents from priest sex abuse cases in the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocese should be open to the public.

Judge Jon Alander's ruling Wednesday is the latest in a long running legal battle pitting the diocese against several newspapers.

Alander ruled that the public has the right to view sealed court documents from nearly two dozen sex abuse lawsuits against the Bridgeport diocese that were settled in 2001, saying that keeping the documents secret to ensure a fair trial is no longer relevant.

The Hartford Courant, The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, sought to have the documents unsealed in 2002.

"The public's right of access to those documents is particularly strong in these cases due to the extraordinary public interest in knowing whether minors in Connecticut were sexually abused by priests employed by the Diocese and whether the Diocese was responsible for perpetuating that abuse," Alander wrote.

However, Alander's ruling does not mean the newspapers will get to review the documents anytime soon. Alander placed a 20-day stay on release of the documents.

Continued at "Catholic Church Sex Abuse Documents Ordered Unsealed (US)" (May require free registration)
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The full text of the ruling is available from The Hartford Courant and begins:

This case is back before this court upon remand from our Supreme Court. See Rosado v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., 276 Conn. 168 (2005). The New York Times Company, The Hartford Courant, Globe Newspaper Company and The Washington Post Company (hereinafter, the newspapers) which have intervened in the above captioned action and twenty-two related cases have filed motions to vacate the protective orders entered by the court in those actions. Each of the twenty-three cases involves lawsuits filed in the mid-1990's alleging sexual abuse of minors by clergymen employed by the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation. The lawsuits were withdrawn on March 12, 2001. Prior to the withdrawal of the actions, protective orders were issued by the court which, inter alia, authorized the filing of certain documents with the court under seal. The newspapers seek an order vacating that portion of the protective orders which sealed documents filed with the court. The defendant Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation and its former officials (collectively, the Diocese) oppose the vacating of the protective orders and the unsealing of the documents. In addition, the Diocese has requested that, to the extent the court concludes that the prior protective orders have expired or should be vacated, the court enter a new protective order sealing the documents in the court file."

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