HARRISBURG (PA)
Catholic News Service
December 5, 2018
In a 6-1 decision Dec. 3, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said the identities of some clergy accused of abuse that were redacted from a grand jury report issued in mid-August must remain permanently blocked from release.
“We conclude … we must make permanent the redaction of petitioners’ identifying information … as this is the only viable due process remedy we may now afford to petitioners to protect their constitutional rights to reputation,” Justice Debra Todd said.
Lawyers for 24 priests named in the report said their clients fought the release of their identities because they said they “were denied an opportunity to appear before the grand jury to defend themselves, question witnesses, or provide contradictory evidence,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
“They later argued that the report received so much publicity that it poisoned public opinion against their clients. The only solution, they contended, was to permanently block the names,” it said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.