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	Release of Priests' Sexual-Abuse Files Sparks Reactions By Chase Wright The Hour December 1, 2009 http://www.thehour.com/story/478833 Local parishioners and advocates for the many children who claimed sexual abuse from priests under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport began dissecting more than 12,000 pages of secret documentation released on Tuesday under a court order. The Bridgeport Diocese turned over more than 12,000 pages from 23 lawsuits against six priests settled by the diocese in 2001. The release of the documents ended a seven-year legal battle to keep them private. When claims of sexual abuse were made against several priests under the Bridgeport Diocese, Catholics in Fairfield County developed local affiliate chapters of the victim advocacy group Voice of the Faithful at local parishes in Norwalk and Greenwich. "Voice of the Faithful has a strong supporter of releasing these documents to the public," said Norwalk resident Richard Maiberger, a member of the group. "The diocese has been fighting for years to keep these documents secret. We've been pushing for more transparency in the church." As she began to dissect the documentation, Voice of the Faithful co-chairwoman Jamie Dance said one thing she had noticed from the recorded depositions with Bishop Walter Curtis is "a complete lack of responsibility and of transparency," she said. "It's so obvious in this documentation," Dance said. In reviewing the files, when questioned by an attorney, Curtis offered little insight into any knowledge of complaints made against priests in his diocese. Dance expressed her frustration with Curtis' repeated statements of "I don't know," suggesting claims of sexual abuse were covered up or not taken seriously. "These children were raped; they were sent home crying and told no one would believe them," she said. "It's very disturbing." In the documentation, recently retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan steadfastly defends priests in the Bridgeport Diocese and his handling of abuse allegations while he was bishop there, saying that charges of sexual misconduct were rarely proven to be true. Egan makes the claims in a 1999 deposition, telling attorney's that he "does not take every claim against every human being as a proved misdeed." He also remarked it was "marvelous" that so few priests have been accused of misconduct and how few of those claims were proven. The Archdiocese of New York defended Egan, saying he "aggressively investigated" allegations of sex abuse by priests despite the documents that show him downplaying the claims.
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