SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Examiner
May 1, 2019
By Laura Waxmann
A lawsuit that would force the Archdiocese of San Francisco to release the names of clergy accused of sexual misconduct was allowed to proceed last week.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco is among 11 diocese across the state that, along with the California Catholic Conference (CCC), are named in the lawsuit that could force church officials to release the names of alleged abusers and provide documents on clerical offenders. The lawsuit alleges that these documents are kept in the dioceses possession, concealed from the public.
While most of the state’s diocese have made public their lists of names, San Francisco is one of two that has not done so.
Diocese officials had previously said they would produce a list last November, but on Tuesday, a spokesperson said that an “independent analysis of over 4,0000 files is not yet complete,” and that San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordilione “will communicate results when it is completed” — potentially by this summer.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to force the church to release a list of names, Plaintiff Tom Emens alleges that he was sexually abused by his priest, Monsignor Thomas Joseph Mohan, at age 11, and that church officials continue to conceal and fail to report systematic abuse.
In an April 17 ruling, Judge Michelle Williams dismissed part of the lawsuit filed last October, which alleges civil conspiracy, public and private nuisance, but left some of the claims open to further proceedings.
Emens is not seeking financial compensation, but is pushing for the release of names and concealed documents relating to the sexual abuse of minors.
“It’s not about me. It’s about the public. It’s about the safety of our children,” said Emens at a press conference held in Burbank, Calif. on Monday. “We have to be cautiously optimistic but [the ruling] is a victory.”
Per her ruling, Williams determined that “there is no right to conceal sexual assaults from authorities,” and that protecting abusers from criminal prosecution is “neither free speech nor petition.”
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