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Rochester diocese: Secret clergy sex abuse files could come out during bankruptcy

By Steve Orr
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
December 23, 2019

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/12/23/rochester-diocese-secret-sex-abuse-files-could-come-out-bankruptcy/2674330001/

STORY HIGHLIGHTS The diocese has received claims from 220 people who said they'd been victimized by local priests. Lawyers say there are ways to bring about transparency in the diocese’s bankruptcy case. The diocese initially asked all abuse-related paperwork relevant to the bankruptcy be filed under seal.

Saying they feared one more cover-up by church leaders, sexual abuse victims howled in protest when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

The bankruptcy process, they said, would enable the diocese to dodge victims’ accusations and keep damning internal records from public view.

As if to prove the point, the diocese's lawyers initially asked that all abuse-related paperwork relevant to the bankruptcy be filed under seal.

"Bishop Salvatore Matano’s choice is simply … an attempt to prevent the truth from being revealed," declared Jeffrey Anderson, a Minnesota lawyer known for his spirited pursuit of child sex-abuse perpetrators.

But that may not have been the last word.

 




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