[See also the text of the search warrant.]
An investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans entered a new phase last week, when Louisiana State Police raised allegations whether former archbishops might have acted criminally by keeping the sexual abuse of children secret for decades.
The allegations, contained in documents connected to a search warrant, for the first time raised the possibility of a criminal case against former local church leaders or the archdiocese itself. Bringing such a case, however, could present a formidable challenge for prosecutors, according to legal experts and authorities on the Catholic church.
Nearly two dozen other states have empaneled grand juries and issued sweeping reports since 2018 detailing thousands of complaints against priests and deacons in local Catholic dioceses, and implicating church leaders in the coverup, according to Terry McKiernan, executive director of Bishopaccountability.org, which tracks clergy sex abuse worldwide.
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