Five years after a sweeping settlement with the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese over sexual molestation claims, an attorney for plaintiffs says he is days away from getting promised personnel files on 25 priests.

Anthony DeMarco told the Los Angeles Times that the entire cache of 200 records addressed by the settlement would also be released soon. Archdiocese lawyer J. Michael Hennigan said that the release of files would unfold in the coming months.

The impending release of documents comes after the California Supreme Court rejected a plea by individual priests to keep their personnel files private.

The Catholic Church agreed in 2007 to pay $660 million to settle 508 lawsuits involving approximately 150 priests, following a series of adverse court rulings. It also begrudgingly agreed to release personnel records of dozens of accused priests. Five years later, those files are still not public.

But the decision by the high court on Wednesday seemed to remove the last barrier to their release. Similar public disclosures in other parts of the country have resulted in shocking revelations. A 2004 settlement with the Orange diocese in Southern California and subsequent 10,000-page document release revealed how predator priests were protected, victims and their families were pressured and inquiries were stymied.

A settlement with Franciscans in Santa Barbara Province resulted in an 8,500-page release that, despite heavy redacting, gave a detailed picture of widespread abuse.  BishopAccountability.org maintains a repository of documents pertaining to legal actions and settlements.   

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Files of L.A. Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse to be Released (by Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times)

Lawyer: Los Angeles Abuse Documents Could See Release by Year’s End (by Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter)

Archdiocese Loses Case to Keep Former Priests' Records Secret (by Randal C. Archibald, New York Times)