MISSOURI
National Catholic Reporter
Aug. 14, 2012
By Joshua J. McElwee
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Following denial Tuesday of an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests will have to decide whether to comply with a local judge’s order to grant access to more than 23 years of internal documents to attorneys representing accused priests.
The denial, issued by the court Tuesday afternoon, is the latest in a months-long saga of SNAP, the leading advocacy group for clergy sex abuse victims, to stop access to the documents.
The group had filed a writ of prohibition to the court in late July, alleging that the order, which requires it to hand over a range of eight categories of documents, violates the freedom of speech and the rights of association of SNAP’s members and volunteers.
Several groups — including 24 victims’ advocacy and church reform groups and six former and current local, state and federal prosecutors — filed amicus briefs with the court that supported SNAP’s position, saying the order could lead to further victimization and ultimately “intimidate, harass, and silence victims of sexual abuse.”
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